President Defies Un By Declaring Nuclear Debate Closed
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday declared debate over Iran's nuclear program "closed" - signaling continued defiance of UN resolutions calling for the program's suspension.
In the Iranian president's address to the UN general assembly, he said that Iran viewed its nuclear industry as an "ordinary" technical matter for the oversight of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Mr Ahmadinejad shrugged off UN resolutions calling for a halt to uranium enrichment, arguing that the security council had been hijacked by major powers to pursue their own interests.
"In the last two years, abusing the security council, the arrogant powers have repeatedly accused Iran and even made military threats and imposed illegal sanctions against it," the Iranian leader said.
He praised the IAEA, with which Iran agreed last month to answer unresolved questions about its past nuclear activities. He said that attempts to politicize the issue had failed in the face of Iranian resistance, adding: "I officially announce that in our opinion the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has turned into an ordinary agency matter."
A meeting of the security council's permanent five members and Germany is due on Friday to debate the possibility of a third wave of sanctions on Iran as punishment for its defiance over enrichment. However, Russia and China are expected to resist a new sanctions resolution while Iran is cooperating with the IAEA.
In his general assembly address, George Bush hardly mentioned Iran, only listing it as a "brutal regime" alongside Belarus, Syria and North Korea.
Instead it was the French president, Niçolas Sarkozy and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who singled Iran out for criticism. President Sarkozy said that allowing Iran to arm itself with nuclear weapons would be an "unacceptable risk to stability in the region and in the world". "There will not be peace in the world if the international community falters in the face of the proliferation of nuclear arms," he said.
In the Iranian president's address to the UN general assembly, he said that Iran viewed its nuclear industry as an "ordinary" technical matter for the oversight of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Mr Ahmadinejad shrugged off UN resolutions calling for a halt to uranium enrichment, arguing that the security council had been hijacked by major powers to pursue their own interests.
"In the last two years, abusing the security council, the arrogant powers have repeatedly accused Iran and even made military threats and imposed illegal sanctions against it," the Iranian leader said.
He praised the IAEA, with which Iran agreed last month to answer unresolved questions about its past nuclear activities. He said that attempts to politicize the issue had failed in the face of Iranian resistance, adding: "I officially announce that in our opinion the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has turned into an ordinary agency matter."
A meeting of the security council's permanent five members and Germany is due on Friday to debate the possibility of a third wave of sanctions on Iran as punishment for its defiance over enrichment. However, Russia and China are expected to resist a new sanctions resolution while Iran is cooperating with the IAEA.
In his general assembly address, George Bush hardly mentioned Iran, only listing it as a "brutal regime" alongside Belarus, Syria and North Korea.
Instead it was the French president, Niçolas Sarkozy and the German chancellor, Angela Merkel, who singled Iran out for criticism. President Sarkozy said that allowing Iran to arm itself with nuclear weapons would be an "unacceptable risk to stability in the region and in the world". "There will not be peace in the world if the international community falters in the face of the proliferation of nuclear arms," he said.
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