TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's firebrand president warned on Monday that his country
would respond with an "appropriate and firm response" to any UN sanction over
its nuclear program.
The comments by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came as key United Nations Security
Council members were considering a draft European resolution that would impose
punishing measures on Iran over its disputed nuclear program.
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad makes his way to speak
in an open session of parliament to debate his nominee as minister of
Social Welfare in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, October. 29, 2006. [AP]
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"Efforts by the big powers will only incite anger and hatred," the hard-line
leader told a large crowd on the outskirts of Tehran.
"The Iranian nation will respond to restrictive activities with an
appropriate and firm response," he said without elaborating.
Meanwhile, Mohamed ElBaradei, who heads the International Atomic Energy
Agency, said at the UN that his organization has not been able to verify that
Iran's nuclear program is peaceful.
Tehran insists its nuclear efforts are solely geared at peacefully producing
electricity. But the US and its allies fear Iranians want to build atomic
weapons.
Russia and China, which wield veto power as permanent Security Council
members, have shied away from imposing punitive measures on their trade partner
Iran, saying they prefer a diplomatic solution to the impasse. But the United
States says the proposed sanctions are not tough enough.
Russian President Vladimir Putin told Ahmadinejad on Monday that Moscow
strongly favors further negotiations on Tehran's nuclear program, the Kremlin
said.
The brief Russian statement after a telephone conversation between the two
leaders was the latest indication that Russia opposes sanctions against Iran and
believes the international community should try to defuse tension through talks.
With Iran waving threats of a firm response to any UN sanction, it also
appeared aimed at cooling Tehran's rhetoric and casting Russia as a peacemaker.
In the Iranian-initiated conversation with Ahmadinejad, "Putin outlined the
fundamental position of the Russian side in favor of a continuation of the
negotiation process," the Kremlin said.
President Bush insists that Washington will only agree to negotiate about
Tehran's nuclear program if the Iranians first halt uranium enrichment, a key
step to produce either peaceful nuclear power or an atomic bomb.
With the council divided, Ahmadinejad remained defiant, telling the crowd
that Iran would prefer to endure sanctions rather than bow to Western pressure.
"We want to stand on our own feet," he said. "You should know that our nation
will not give in one iota in the nuclear case."
He also mocked Britain as a "follower of arrogance," for aligning itself with
U.S. foreign policy, days after British Prime Minister
Tony Blair called
on the Security Council to achieve a "proper, binding resolution" on Iran's
nuclear activities.
The British "have simply become the guide for a blind US," Ahmadinejad said.
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