Iran said Thursday that a just-released UN atomic watchdog IAEA
report has proved the country's nuclear program is "peaceful"
and the pursuit of new sanctions against the Islamic Republic would
be "wrong."
White House Press
Secretary Dana Perino briefs reporters at the White House in
Washignton, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007. The White House vowed
immediately that it would push for new sanctions against Iran
despite the ElBaradei report showed partial cooperation between
Tehran and IAEA in the past months.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili made the remarks at
a press conference in Tehren in the Supreme National Security
Council, in reaction to a long awaited report released by the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohammad ElBaradei
earlier in the day.
"The (ElBaradei) report is comprehensive and very clear, the
basis of sending Iran's nuclear case to the (UN) Security Council
has collapsed ...the powers who based their accusations on this
should reconsider their words," Jalili told reporters, referring to
the US claims that Tehran was seeking to develop weapons of mass
destruction from its nuclear program.
The Islamic Republic has answered all questions of the IAEA and
"made progress in cooperation with it," he added, stressing "Iran
had kept its promise."
Meanwhile, he said the current push by the US for a third
sanction resolution against Iran would be "wrong." If new UN
sanctions are approved, "you should be asking what is the logic in
this?"
The press conference was scheduled to be held on Thursday
morning. However, it was postponed until the evening due to the
24-hour delay of the ElBaradei report which was supposed to be
released on Wednesday.
In the report over Tehran's cooperation on the nuclear program
issued in Vienna, the UN atomic watchdog said "Iran has made
substantial progress in revealing the nature and extent of its
disputed nuclear program," though "Tehran needs to be more
pro-active in providing information."
The report also stressed Iran "had been keeping ignoring the UN
demand of freezing its sensitive uranium enrichment work".
Jalili repeated Iran's insistence of its unshakable rights over
the nuclear process, saying "we want our rights ... reference of
Iran's case to UNSC has been proved futile ... it's useless for
Iranian people to get their rights."
But the White House vowed immediately that it would push for new
sanctions against Iran despite the ElBaradei report showed partial
cooperation between Tehran and IAEA in the past months.
"We believe that selective cooperation is not good enough," said
White House press secretary Dana Perino.
(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2007)
