Ayatollah Vows Iran To Continue Nukes

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Monday that Tehran will continue to pursue nuclear technology, state television reported.

Khamenei's declaration came on the eve of Iran's self-imposed Aug. 22 deadline to respond to a Western incentives package for it to roll back its nuclear program. The United Nations has given Tehran until the end of August to suspend uranium enrichment.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran has made its own decision and in the nuclear case, God willing, with patience and power, will continue its path," Khamenei was quoted as saying by the broadcast.

He accused the United States of pressuring Iran despite Tehran's assertions that it was not seeking to develop nuclear weapons, as the United States and several of its allies have contended.

"Arrogant powers and the U.S. are putting their utmost pressure on Iran while knowing Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons," he said.

Iran on Sunday said it will offer a "multifaceted response" to the incentives proposal. It insisted that it won't suspend uranium enrichment altogether.

Last month, the U.N. Security Council passed a resolution requiring the halt to enrichment under threat of economic and diplomatic sanctions.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel pressed Monday for a "solid answer" from Iran on the package.

"I still hope that it will be positive, although some signals have been very confused," said Merkel, whose country drew up the package with the five permanent Security Council members.

The proposal includes promises that the United States and Europe will provide civilian nuclear technology and that Washington will join direct talks with Iran.

Tehran says uranium enrichment does not violate any of its obligations under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and that its nuclear program aims to produce electricity.

Khamenei accused the West of wanting to obstruct scientific progress in the Islamic world and called for Islamic countries to stand together in the face of such pressure.

The resolution calls for the suspension of uranium enrichment by Aug. 31 or possible 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.

Iran has said the incentives package is an "acceptable basis" for a compromise. Asefi said part of the package was "convincing" but there were ambiguities that needed to be clarified in talks.

Earlier, Iran's state-run television reported the test-firing of 10 surface-to-surface Saegheh missiles Sunday, a day after large-scale military exercises began across the country.

The military exercises come as Iran faces heightened international scrutiny for its support of the Shiite Muslim militants of Hezbollah in Lebanon.