Iran Won’t Abide By UN Deadline On Nuclear Program
Posted August 31, 2006 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Travel bans are reportedly among the low level sanctions the U.S. and Europe are considering if Iran doesn’t abide by a United Nations deadline to halt its nuclear program.
The deadline was set for 12:01am Friday in Iran, or about 3:30pm Thursday at the UN Security Council in New York.
But the moment of decision came and went with no change in the country’s position.
“The Iranian nation will not succumb to bullying, invasion and the violation of its rights,” railed Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a speech.
Tehran claims it’s only interested in providing fuel for civilian nuclear power stations.
“They claim to be supporting freedom but they support the most tyrannical governments in the world to pursue their own interests,” Ahmadinejad said, referring to the United States.
“They talk about human rights while maintaining the most notorious prisons,” he said. “Those powers that do not abide by God and follow evil are the main source of all the current problems of mankind.”
U.S. and European officials could push for travel restrictions or other penalties but no action will be taken before a key European diplomat meets with Tehran’s atomic chief next week to seek a compromise.
“We must not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon,” U.S. President George W. Bush said in a speech in Salt Lake City. He said Washington hoped for a diplomatic solution, but insisted “it is time for Iran to make a choice” whether to co-operate with the United Nations. “The world now faces a grave threat from the radical regime in Iran,” he warns.
More extreme sanctions could include a broader trade ban or a freeze on Iranian assets – although that could result in the shutdown of oil exports.
