Iran Defiant On Nuke Program

(CBS/AP)  Iran said Sunday that it will offer a "multifaceted response" Tuesday to a Western package of incentives aimed at persuading Tehran to rein in its nuclear program, but insisted it won't suspend uranium enrichment altogether.

Speaking after Iran's military test-fired 10 short-range missiles, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said at a news conference that a nuclear compromise would have to be reached during future negotiations.

"Everything has to come out of negotiations," Asefi said. "Suspension is not on our agenda."

The U.N. Security Council passed a resolution last month calling for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment by Aug. 31 or face the threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions.

"Iran's preview of its response to U.N. demands that it halt its nuclear program, one week in advance of the deadline, falls short of the requirements of the Resolution," said CBS News Foreign Affairs Analyst Pamela Falk, "But because it is early, it is being seen as an opening salvo in negotiations that are sure to be intense, particularly because of Iran's relationship to the crisis in the Middle East."

"We have made clear that if Iran fails to comply with the Security Council's mandate, we will move quickly at the United Nations to impose sanctions," White House spokeswoman Emily Lawrimore said Sunday.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said he expected Tehran's response to the incentives package to be positive.

"In a time of acute crisis in the Middle East, I believe that progress on the nuclear issue is essential for the stability not only of the region, but the international system itself. It is time to take steps in the right direction," he said in a statement.

Uranium enrichment produces reactor fuel, but it also can make fissile material for nuclear warheads, and the United States and other countries suspect Iran is trying to develop atomic weapons.

Iran, which claims it only wants reactors to generate electricity, has rejected the resolution as "illegal," saying it has not violated any of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Asefi said the world could not afford to join the United States in imposing sanctions.

"Iran's influence in the region is clear. A country like Iran has extensive political, economic and cultural capabilities. Will other countries ignore Iran's capabilities in their political and economic cooperation?" he said.

• 1
• 2
• Next Page »

[patpitiyer]

It would be funny if it were not so pathetic. All the idiots of this world fighting each other because they don't worship god in the same way. Don't they realize that if there was a god he would not allow so much bloodshed in his name.

[johnny51214]

Quran:And if they say to you that they are the favourites of God to the exclusion of others, tell them to invoke death if they are truthful.

Correct, invoke death so that you may be closer to him! Rather they are scared as hell, unlike the a race of jihadists they face, one thing is being millitarily superior, its another when that same weak race you prey on gets it stronger. It makes the fight a little bi more interesting.

[proudjew2004]

What about Israel's 200+ nukes? Ooh, Israel is a responsible nation and will never use it's nukes. Israel is the spring of evil in the middle east. MAY THE WRATH OF GOD COME DOWN ON ISRAEL AND EVERYONE THAT SUPPORT HER...amin

[duffyn]

Somehow I don't think vaporizing Iran is going to solve all our problems. I think instead of constantly promoting war. We might try constantly promoting peace and, of course, we need to keep our big sticks at rhe ready.

[evil_smurf]

I do not think this whole situation with Iran has anything at all to do with 9-11. I can't stress enough of how sick I am of the "Tinfoil Hat Brigade" that runs around claiming the government bombed the twin towers so that we could start a war over oil.

But back to the topic:

Nobody planned Iran to act like little children with a new shiny toy. But just like any child, if they start getting bratty, you need to smack them around a bit.

Everybody knows time-outs don't work.

[greencharm]

I am very concerned about what could be about to happen in the middle and the plans we have apparently made which has led to this crisis.
The UN resolution, Iran's refusal, Iran's respnse on Aug 22nd, multifacited response by Iran, globalization led by the U.S., all appear to be leading into a state of war which looks as though it has been carefully planned by the U.S.
Aug 22nd I understand, is also the Muslim's day of apocalypes. The twin towers of 9-11 involved a technology exclusive to the U.S. I think this was the beginning of a situation more serious than the planners had hoped for back in the 17th century. Greencharm