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02/04/2006:

"Iran to immediately curb UN atom checks after vote"

VIENNA (Reuters) - Iran will immediately curb UN inspections of its nuclear plants and pursue full-scale uranium enrichment after a UN nuclear watchdog agency vote reporting it to the Security Council, a senior Iranian official said on Saturday.

"After this decision, Iran has to immediately bring into force its parliamentary law to suspend voluntary implementation of (the watchdog agency's) Additional Protocol (on snap inspections) and (pursue) commercial-scale enrichment which until today was under full suspension," Javad Vaeedi, deputy Iranian nuclear negotiator, told reporters after the vote.
reuters.com


nice to see the Germans back on 'our' side:

Merkel likens Iran threat to Nazi era
MUNICH, Germany (Reuters) - German Chancellor Angela Merkel likened Iran's nuclear plans on Saturday to the threat posed by the Nazis in their early days, as top U.S. officials urged a tough line to stop Tehran from making an atomic bomb.

U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld accused the Islamic republic of being the world's leading sponsor of terrorism, a charge his Iranian counterpart rejected as "ridiculous" and "outrageous".

Addressing the annual Munich security conference, Merkel said countries around the world had underestimated the Nazi threat as Adolf Hitler rose to power.

"Looking back to German history in the early 1930s when National Socialism (Nazism) was on the rise, there were many outside Germany who said 'It's only rhetoric -- don't get excited'," she told the assembled world defense policy makers.

"There were times when people could have reacted differently and, in my view, Germany is obliged to do something at the early stages ... We want to, we must prevent Iran from developing its nuclear program."



Iran launched 'secret' rocket test
IRAN secretly tested a new surface-to-surface missile (SSM) on January 17, seeking to establish the measurements needed for long-range missiles, the German daily Die Welt reported in its issue to appear today.

The test, conducted by members of the Revolutionary Guard led by Yahya Rahim Safavi, was successful, according to Western diplomats cited by the newspaper, which did not indicate the location where the test took place.

On January 28, Safavi said that Iran would use its ballistic missiles if it was attacked.

"Iran has a ballistic missile with a range of 2,000 kilometres," he said on Iranian public television.

"We do not intend to attack any country, but if we are attacked, we are capable of effectively responding. Our position is defensive."


Embassies torched as cartoon furor grows
DAMASCUS (Reuters) - Furious Syrians set fire to the Danish and Norwegian embassies on Saturday as protests over cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad showed no signs of abating despite calls for calm.

Oil giant Iran, already embroiled in a dispute with the West over its nuclear programme, said it was reviewing trade ties with countries that have published such caricatures.

Something is about to blow...