No retreat on nuclear programme, says Iran

IRAN won’t retreat “one iota” from its nuclear programme, but the world is being misled by claims that it seeks atomic weapons, president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday in his first reaction since a UN watchdog report that Tehran is on the brink of developing a nuclear warhead.

The comments — broadcast live on state TV — contrasted sharply with Western warnings that Iran appears to be engaged in a dangerous defiance of international demands to control the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions.

In Paris, foreign minister Alain Juppe said France would support boosting sanctions against Tehran to an “unprecedented scale” if Iran stonewalls investigations, even as Israel and others say that military options are still possible.

Israel’s government, however, remained silent over the report, apparently seeking to keep the focus on international pressures and avoid turning the report into a specific showdown between Israel and Iran.

Meanwhile, Iran’s chief allies, China and Russia, have issued cautious statements calling for diplomacy and dialogue.

“This nation won’t retreat one iota from the path it is going,” Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in Shahr-e-Kord in central Iran. “Why are you ruining the prestige of the (UN nuclear) agency for absurd US claims?”

Ahmadinejad also strongly criticised the UN International Atomic Energy Agency, saying it is discrediting itself by siding with “absurd” US accusations.

The 13-page annex to the IAEA’s report released on Tuesday included claims that while some of Iran’s activities have civilian as well as military applications, others are “specific to nuclear weapons”.

The US and allies claim a nuclear-armed Iran could touch off a nuclear arms race among rival states and directly threaten Israel.

Israel and others have said military options have not been ruled out.