Iran: Iran stepped up its war of words with the West yesterday over its nuclear programme by threatening to abrogate the international treaty on nuclear weapons if a binding UN Security Council resolution is set against Tehran.
In a letter to the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, the Iranian parliament demanded that its government pull out of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty if the Security Council adopts a resolution that could pave the way for economic sanctions, and ultimately military action, against Iran. Senior officials from the US, Europe, Russia and China are to meet in Paris tomorrow in the next round of increasingly hectic diplomatic activity over Iran.
Supported by the US, the British, Germans and French have drafted a Security Council resolution obliging Iran to halt its uranium enrichment programme, which the West fears is aimed at obtaining the material and knowhow for a nuclear warhead.
In the council, Russia is the biggest obstacle to the adoption of the ultimatum and may dig in its heels further following last week's strong attack on the Kremlin by US vice-president Dick Cheney.
But the draft on the table in New York would not automatically trigger sanctions or other punitive measures against Iran if it defied the ultimatum. Another Security Council resolution would be needed for that, meaning the Russians could agree to this one and keep their options open on follow-up moves.
While the Iranian foreign ministry said any mandatory security council resolution would turn the crisis into one of "confrontation" between Iran and nations of the West, the country's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said that Iran would "dash the illegitimate resolution against the wall".
In what was taken as a threat that could be exploited by the regime at a later stage, the Iranian parliament's letter warned that any mandatory resolution under chapter seven of the UN charter could lead to Iran reviewing its commitments under the nuclear treaty. Signatories can withdraw from it at three months' notice, as North Korea has done to pursue nuclear weapons.
- (Guardian service)