Iran: No Stopping Uranium Enrichment
Foreign Minister Calls Demand To Halt Program "Illegal", But He's Ready To Talk
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Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, center, attends a meeting with clerics in Tehran, Iran, Sunday, Feb. 25, 2007. Ahmadinejad said Sunday his country would move forward with its disputed nuclear program, comparing its nuclear drive to a train that has no brakes. (AP Photo/ISNA, Ruhollah Vahdati)
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Iran's Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki speaks to the media during a news conference in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Feb. 21, 2007. (AP Photo/ISNA, Ruhollah Vahdati)
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier this week in a public gathering in the city of Rasht, about 195 miles northwest of Tehran. (AP Photo/ISNA, Mehdi Ghasemi)
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Timeline Iran Nuclear Chronology Events in development of Iran's nuclear program since it first came to light.
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Fast Facts Iran Learn about the people, economy and history.
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Interactive Nuclear Armed World The world's nuclear weapons powers, missile defense and a history of the nuclear weapons age.
"Demands that Iran halt enrichment are illegal and illegitimate and based on an incorrect political strategy. This (suspension) will never materialize," the official Islamic Republic News Agency quoted Mottaki as telling a conference in the capital Tehran.
However, Iran is prepared to negotiate about its nuclear program "without any preconditions," he said.
Iran suspended enrichment activities in 2003 as a goodwill gesture toward negotiations with Britain, France and Germany, but it resumed the process in January 2006 when it concluded that the talks were leading nowhere.
Enriched uranium is used to fuel nuclear reactors but uranium enriched to a high degree is used to make atomic bombs.
The United States and some of its allies object to Iran's enrichment process because they believe it is secretly trying to build nuclear weapons.
Iran denies this, saying its enrichment is solely so that it can be self-sufficient in fuel for its Russian-built nuclear reactor.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice reiterated this weekend that she would negotiate with Mottaki as soon as Iran had suspended enrichment.
But Washington's making suspension a precondition for talks was criticized by two opinion-makers at a conference on international security in New York on Monday.
Former chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix said the U.S. condition for negotiations was "humiliating" for Iran.
"This is in a way like telling a child: first you will behave and thereafter you will be given your rewards," Blix said.
And a former U.S. State Department official, Richard Haass, who now heads the Council on Foreign Relations, said the call for stopping enrichment should not be allowed to "torpedo diplomacy."
But Haass also criticized Iran for defying the U.N. Security Council, which has repeatedly called on Tehran to stop enrichment.
The Security Council's Big Five members plus Germany began talks on Monday on taking further steps against Iran after the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran had ignored demands for a suspension and instead had expanded its enrichment program.
In December the Security Council imposed limited sanctions on Iran.
© MMVII The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Best-selling author Mitch Albom on his first nonfiction work since "Tuesdays with Morrie."





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See all 56 CommentsPosted by Musty2U
Moisty2U: are-you calling for a genocide? You are of the same nature then, Hitler, Neron, Caligula...
Is that what Jesus taught you to preach Moisty2U ?
Iran has called to talks - but without preconditions. Sounds fair but Bush won't accept because he really doesn't want to negotitate. The neocon APAC has to be realized. Got it?
not do something we are going to die.
Posted by kaili3
what else are you afraid of sissy, sleeping with the night lamp out? you're suffering from mass hysteria obviously.
not do something we are going to die.
Posted by kaili3 at 10:09 AM : Feb 27, 2007
Iran poses no threat to the US. Your fears would be better focused on the lunatic in the White House. He is a far more serious threat to the US & world than anyone else.
Attacking Iran will only increase the threat of "terrorism" against US targets by another 1,000% and is a stupid idea since Iran wants to be an ally, not an enemy.
they want to mess with us ,I say we give it back and 10 times harder.
What I'm saying is Recently. No one has bothered them in recent years. I believe they are trying to taunt us into battle. I'm afraid if Bush does
not do something we are going to die.
The majority hate us , Iran should be xx out because they will do it to us soon enough.
Personally, I think he is trying to get us to attack him first, then he is justified in using
nuclear weapons.
to be afraid of. I hope you all feel the same way when we get nuked, then tell me how much you love that stupid country.
why should we not kill them.
Posted by kaili3 at 09:44 AM : Feb 27, 2007
Here you go, Sparky, educate yourself:
"Operation Ajax (1953) (officially TP-AJAX) was a covert operation by the United Kingdom and the United States to remove the democratically elected nationalist[1] cabinet of Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh from power, to support the Pahlavi dynasty and consolidate the power of Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in order to preserve the Western control of Iran's hugely lucrative oil infrastructure[2]."
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Ajax
Mohammad Reza Pahlavi became fondly known as the "Shah of Iran" and after over 25 years of his brutal dictatorship, the Iranian people overthrew him in 1979.
Installing a brutal dictator, who was far worse than Saddam Hussein ever was, could be considered threatening to the Iranian people.
But, don't feel badl, ignorance is a trait commonly shared by all Bush bootlickers.
You are right, Iranians do live to kill Americans, but its only about 40% of the population. What about the 60% that like the U.S.? Do we take it out on all of them?
And by the way, one of you said Iran has a right to nukes because they need them to defend themselves because we have them.
We have never threatened Iran until they started *** with us. They have no problem killing us,
why should we not kill them.
Nuke them!
The real problem is the majority of the Iranian people like the U.S.!! The Iranian Government is the problem, not the majority of the Iranian population, that's the problem with attacking Iran!!
you mean it is worse than when franklin d roosevelt locked up all the japanese in america during ww2 skippy........ bush hasn't locked up all the muslims in america skippy..... but you already know that......
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