IRAN: Government insists on nuclear policy change if pressured and criticises UN plan to disarm Hizbollah.

Record ID: 313801

  • Title: IRAN: Government insists on nuclear policy change if pressured and criticises UN plan to disarm Hizbollah.
  • Date: 13th August 2006
  • Summary: (W3) TEHRAN, IRAN, (AUGUST, 13, 2006) (REUTERS) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN HAMID REZA ASEFI ENTERING NEWS CONFERENCE WIDE OF NEWS CONFERENCE REPORTERS LISTENING (SOUNDBITE) (FARSI) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN HAMID REZA ASEFI, SAYING (ABOUT NUCLEAR ISSUE): "Iran will not yield to the language of threat and pressure, if they (westerners) continue to pressure us, we will review our policy. If they (westerners) insist on their ideas, the case will fall into a vicious circle." REPORTERS WIDE OF PRESS HALL (SOUNDBITE) (FARSI) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, HAMID REZA ASEFI, SAYING: "If they (westerners) do not change their path, Iran will act proportionally. It is not like one side determines the path and the other side just watches the act." WIDE OF PRESS HALL REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (FARSI) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN, HAMID REZA ASEFI, SAYING (ABOUT UN-BROKERED CEASEFIRE IN LEBANON): "We are happy for the ceasefire in the Lebanon, and believe that it would be better if they stopped the killing of the innocent Lebanese people. And we see it as a political victory for the Lebanese government, as the Americans and the Israelis could not install all of their opinions in the resolution." WIDE OF PRESS HALL CAMERA SCREEN (SOUNDBITE) (FARSI) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTRY SPOKESMAN HAMID REZA ASEFI REGARDING LEBANON'S RESOLUTION SAYING: "This resolution is unbalanced and the delay in passing it has harmed the credibility of the UN security council and has led to the UN security council's disgrace among the world's public opinion." WIDE OF PRESS HALL HAMID REZA ASEFI LEAVING PRESS HALL
  • Embargoed: 28th August 2006 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Topics: Energy
  • Reuters ID: LVA18LF84ZW0WD22YRB64JOA7NDE
  • Story Text: Iran said on Sunday (August 13) Western threats and pressure would not resolve a dispute over its atomic programme but could push Tehran to review its nuclear policy.
    Iran also said it welcomed a planned ceasefire to halt the month-long war between Lebanon's Hizbollah and Israel but described the UN Security Council's call for disarming the Iranian-backed group as "illogical".
    Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi did not say what nuclear policy would be reviewed but President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has previously said Iran might reconsider membership of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
    The UN Security Council has demanded that Iran suspend sensitive atomic work by August 31 or face the threat of sanctions. The West says it is being used to develop nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charge.
    "Iran will not yield to the language of threat and pressure, if they (westerners) continue to pressure us, we will review our policy. If they (westerners) insist on their ideas, the case will fall into a vicious circle," Asefi told a weekly news conference.
    "If they (westerners) do not change their path, Iran will act proportionally. It is not like one side determines the path and the other side just watches the act," he said.
    Iran insists it wants to enrich uranium to make fuel for power stations not for producing material to make bombs.
    Iranian parliament speaker Gholamali Haddadadel said on Sunday Iran might follow North Korea out of the NPT in response to the UN resolution. Parliamentarians have previously threatened to present a bill calling for Iran to quit the treaty.
    The United States, Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia proposed two months ago to give Iran trade and technical concessions if it shelves its enrichment programme. Iran gave itself until August 22 to reply. Western powers said this was too long and hauled Iran before the Security Council.
    Iranian officials often say sanctions would hurt the West more than Tehran by lifting already high oil prices to levels that would be unmanageable for industrialised economies.
    Later in the news conference, Asefi said that Iran welcomed a planned ceasefire to halt the war in Lebanon but criticised plans to disarm Hizbollah.
    The UN Security Council adopted a resolution on Friday calling for a "full cessation of hostilities" and for the implementation of a previous U.N. resolution requiring the disarming of armed groups including Hizbollah.
    "We are happy for the ceasefire in the Lebanon, and believe that it would be better if they stopped the killing of the innocent Lebanese people. And we see it as a political victory for the Lebanese government, as the Americans and the Israelis could not install all of their opinions in the resolution," he said.
    Asked about the call for disarming Hizbollah, Asefi said the demand was unreasonable.
    "This resolution is unbalanced and the delay in passing it has harmed the credibility of the UN security council and has led to the UN security council's disgrace among the world's public opinion," he said.
    Israel accuses Iran of providing Hizbollah with missiles used against civilian and military targets. Although Iran armed and funded Hizbollah during the 1980s, Tehran now insists it provides only moral support to the group.
    Opposition to Israel was one of the founding principles of the Islamic Republic. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2011. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register