Bush warns Iran of UN action: Tehran urged to ‘adopt democracy’
WASHINGTON, March 16: US President George Bush said on Wednesday that the United States and its European allies would seek UN Security Council action against Iran if Tehran rejected incentives to limit its nuclear programs. “The understanding is, we go to the Security Council if they reject the offer. And I hope they don’t. I hope they realize the world is clear about making sure that they don’t end up with a nuclear weapon,” he said. Mr Bush also said that “Iran should adopt democracy”, but pointedly declined to say he thought there should be regime change in Tehran — the kind of language used in the runup to the invasion of Iraq.
His comments came as Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami asserted that no incentives would be enough to convince the Islamic republic to renounce its nuclear program, but pledged the country would make “every effort” to convince the world it was not seeking atomic weapons.
Mr Bush said Tehran must “permanently abandon any enrichment or reprocessing to make sure that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon”. Britain, France and Germany led efforts to offer Iran economic incentives to do so “and now we’re waiting for an Iranian response,” the US president said during a press conference.
Asked whether he believed there should be regime change in Iran, Mr Bush replied: “I believe that the Iranian people ought to be allowed to freely discuss opinions, read a free press, have free votes, be able to choose among political parties.
“I believe Iran should adopt democracy, that’s what I believe,” said the president.
KHATAMI: Iran’s President Mohammad Khatami asserted on Wednesday that no incentives would be enough to convince his country to renounce its nuclear programme, but pledged the country would make “every effort” to convince the world it was not seeking atomic weapons.
“We will not give up our nuclear technology in return for any incentives. We will not accept any incentives. And we will make every effort to convince the world that what we have is peaceful,” Mr Khatami said at a news conference.
When asked to respond to US demands that Iran abandon its bid to master the fuel cycle and enrich uranium, Mr Khatami replied: “Then I ask (US President George) Bush to stop his incorrect policies against Iran and the Middle East.”
“Part of the crisis in the Middle East comes form the United States. If the US really wants to put a stop to atomic weapons, it should go to the countries that are not members of the NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) and who do not abide by international regulations,” Mr Khatami said.
“The most dangerous of them is Israel.” “We are also worried about nuclear weapons. We are in no way seeking atomic weapons because it is contrary to our beliefs,” he insisted.
President Khatami said “we have the right to have this (Nuclear) technology”, and said his country could not be forced to rely on nuclear fuel from overseas, only to see supplies cut. “We have given objective guarantees and Europe has to give us firm guarantees regarding our security and development,” said the president, in Isfahan to close a one-day OPEC ministerial meeting.
Iran has maintained a freeze of its enrichment activities since the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) uncovered close to two decades of covert activity.
Earlier on Wednesday, Iran’s top nuclear negotiator Hassan Rowhani said Iran had definitively and officially told Europeans that it will never accept a permanent halt to its enrichment programme.—AFP
