Iran: Pressure Will Not Make it Abandon Nuclear Program
18 April 2006
Iran has warned permanent United Nations Security Council members that no amount of pressure will make it abandon its nuclear program.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi says Tuesday's meeting of the five permanent Council members plus Germany is of more importance to the participants than to Iran. He says previous attempts to pressure Iran have failed to persuade it to stop nuclear activities.
Today's talks in Moscow among the Council members come a week before the full Security Council is to hear a report on Iran from the International Atomic Energy Agency.
In Washington, President Bush today reiterated that all options remain on the table with regard to Iran, but that he wants to resolve the issue diplomatically.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, appearing at an armed forces parade in Tehran today, said any aggressor would regret attacking his country. Mr. Ahmadinejad said his country's military is one of the world's most powerful armies.
Earlier this month, Iran carried out war games in the Persian Gulf and announced the testing of many new weapons. Among the Iranian-developed devices were a radar-evading missile and a high-speed, sonar-evading torpedo.
Some information for this report was provided by AFP, AP .
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