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02/04/2006:
"Here we go..."
World Nuclear Panel to Refer Iran to U.N. Security CouncilPublished: February 4, 2006
VIENNA, Feb. 3 - In a move that could change the course of international diplomacy towards Iran, the 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency approved a resolution on Saturday to report the country’s nuclear case to the United Nations Security Council.
The resolution, which passed 27-3 with five abstentions, opens the door for the first time to possible punitive action against Iran in the New York body over fears that it is developing a nuclear weapon.
Cuba, Syria and Venezuela voted against the resolution. Algeria, Belarus, Indonesia, Libya and South Africa abstained.
The vote is the climax of a two-and-a-half year campaign by the Bush administration to convince the world that suspicions about Iran’s nuclear program are so serious that the issue must come before the Security Council for judgment.
Russian MP: US-Israeli anti-Iranian moves, premeditated assassination of Iranian nation
Russian Duma representative Alexi Mitrafanov Friday called the harmonized plot hatched by some EU members, United States, and Israel against Iran's nuclear program "premeditated assassination" of the Iranian nation."
Mitrafanov made the comment in an exclusive interview with IRNA, adding, "The reason behind US-Israeli antagonist policies pursued against Iran is your country's independent and nationalist policies, that can be a model for other countries in the region."
On Iran's nuclear dossier, he said, "The united States, backed by the EU, the IAEA, and the UN Security Council lever, intends to impose sanctions against Iran, but such sanctions would initially inflict losses against the Americans and the Europeans."
The Duma representative added, "In that case the oil prices would rise up to $100 per barrel and the West would suffer other losses, as well."
He said, "Having the full cycle of producing nuclear fuel for peaceful purposes, too, is Iran's natural right, and it is neither logical, nor possible to deprive your country of that legal right resorting to unreasonable pretexts."
China's UN Envoy: Won't Support Sanctions Against Iran
UNITED NATIONS (AP)--China would never support sanctions against Iran as a " matter of principle," the Chinese ambassador to the U.N. said Friday, adding that his nation still prefers a low-key approach in confronting Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Ambassador Wang Guangya told reporters that he did not want the Security Council to put pressure on Iran, but instead to support the International Atomic Energy Agency as it tries to defuse the standoff over Iran's suspect nuclear program.
Iran has no bomb but it will hit back, US told
IRAN'S clerical regime is supremely confident, has a firm grip on power and is ready to retaliate against attacks by the US or Israel with missiles or by activating terrorist allies, the latest American intelligence assessment says.
The National Intelligence Director, John Negroponte, delivered an implied rebuke to those in Washington hoping the West can engineer regime change in Tehran. In Tuesday's State of the Union address, President George Bush issued a veiled call for the Iranian people to rise up against the mullahs.
But on Thursday, as the International Atomic Energy Agency's governing body prepared to vote on a resolution to report Iran to the UN Security Council, Mr Negroponte suggested there was no imminent threat of Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Tehran "probably" did not have an atomic bomb or the fissile material to make one, he said. But the risk Iran could make or buy a nuclear device and mount it on its missiles was "reason for immediate concern".
Mr Negroponte told the Senate intelligence committee: "Iran already has the largest inventory of ballistic missiles in the Middle East. And Tehran views its ballistic missiles as an integral part of its strategy to deter and, if necessary, retaliate against forces in the region, including United States forces."
Mr Negroponte also noted that the Iranian-backed Hezbollah group in Lebanon "has a worldwide support network and is capable of attacks against US interests if it feels its Iranian patron is threatened".
