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Iranian President treats N.program closed, ignores the Security Council MIL/NYT, Sep 27, 2007. Author: United Nations, September 27, 2007 – "The Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in his opening speech on Tuesday that he considered the dispute over his country’s N. program as a “closed” matter and would thus ignore the resolutions of the Security Council. Another reason that the Iranian President takes upon is that the resolution of the Security Council is useless being dominated by proudly nations. However, technically, he admits, the IAEC would decide the matter. Mr. Ahmadinejad is of the confirmed view that Iran’s nuclear program was solely for civilian purposes and fell within the legal requirements of the atomic energy agency." (IR Summary) Dr. ElBaradei has been at odds with Washington, and some European powers, who have accused him of meddling in the diplomacy by seeking separate accords with Iran, and in their eyes undercutting the Security Council resolutions. “Today because of the resistance of the Iranian nation, the issue is back to the agency, and I officially announce that in our opinion, the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has turned into an ordinary agency matter,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said. A senior Bush administration official said after the address that the only person who thought that the issue was closed was Mr. Ahmadinejad. As the Iranian president moved to speak, the United States delegation left, leaving only a note-taker to listen to the speech, which occurred just hours after President Bush had spoken from the same podium about the need for nations to live up to the rights guaranteed by the United Nations. In a barely disguised barb, Mr. Ahmadinejad asserted, “Unfortunately human rights are being extensively violated by certain powers, especially by those who pretend to be their exclusive advocates.” “In the last two years,” the Iranian president said, “abusing the Security Council, the arrogant powers have repeatedly accused Iran and even made military threats and imposed illegal sanctions against it.” In recent weeks, American and French officials have described an emerging strategy of broadening the number of banks, mostly in Europe, that have refused to lend new capital to Iran, making it difficult for the country to invest in new oil facilities or other infrastructure. “We want more banks, and now suppliers, to assess the risk” of dealing with Iran, Stephen J. Hadley, President Bush’s national security adviser, said in a meeting on Tuesday with editors and reporters of The New York Times. The issue now, he said, is “at what point the regime, or elements of the regime, say ‘this policy is taking us into a ditch.’” Administration officials insist that despite Mr. Ahmadinejad’s high profile in New York this week, he is being marginalized at home. If true, it makes it hard to assess whether he was speaking for the rest of the Iranian leadership with his declaration. Mr. Ahmadinejad, as he has in the past, argued that Iran’s nuclear program was solely for civilian purposes and fell within the legal requirements of the atomic energy agency. The Security Council powers believe that Iran’s real purpose is to build nuclear weapons, and it has backed up that conviction with two resolutions and economic sanctions against the Tehran government. Full Stotry:http://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/26/world/26nations.html?_r=1&th&emc=th&oref=slogin | |
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