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Iran Sends Nuclear Negotiator to Vienna

Posted on: Wednesday, 26 April 2006, 15:00 CDT

By NASSER KARIMI

TEHRAN, Iran - Facing a U.N. deadline to halt uranium enrichment by Friday, Iran's supreme leader warned the United States of a "twofold" response should it launch a military attack. But Iran on Wednesday also sent a senior nuclear negotiator to Vienna for 11th-hour talks with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

"The Americans should know that if they invade Iran, their interests around the world would be harmed," supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted as saying by state television.

"Iran will respond twofold to any attack," Khamenei added, speaking to workers in advance of the May 1 celebration of International Laborers Day.

The United States has repeatedly said it has no plans to attack Iran but that all options remain on the table as it pursues a diplomatic solution to Iran's insistence on enrichment of uranium - a process that can produce fuel for power generators or material for nuclear bombs.

The U.N. Security Council has given Iran until Friday to suspend enrichment, failing which it is likely to consider taking steps against the country. Iran has rejected the ultimatum, but senior negotiator Gholamreza Aghazadeh would discuss the issue in his talks with the IAEA, which is preparing a report on Iran's compliance with last month's Security Council resolution.

In Vienna, diplomats were skeptical of the proposals that Aghazadeh was expected to be carrying, saying they were unlikely to alter the negative tone of the IAEA report to the Security Council.

The diplomats, who spoke on condition of anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the report with the media, said they expected the IAEA to criticize Iran for failing to freeze enrichment and provide answers to questions probing the extent of its nuclear program.

The chief U.S. delegate to the IAEA, Gregory L. Schulte, has said he expects a negative report from the IAEA's director-general Mohamed ElBaradei.

"After the failure of the authorities in Iran to offer any additional transparency or cooperation, it's hard to imagine that the director general will be able to issue a positive report on Friday," Schulte said Tuesday. "Indeed, the director general will have little choice but to report Iran's failure to comply with the demands of the Security Council and the IAEA board of governors."

The United States has asked for the Security Council to meet next Wednesday to discuss how to respond to the report.

But Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad shrugged off the chance of the council's penalizing Iran.

"The enemies could not impose their wrong decision against us under cover of the Security Council and the IAEA," Ahmadinejad said Wednesday, according to Iranian state television.

Ahmadinejad said Iran remained committed to negotiations.

"We are ready to discuss (the nuclear program) to show that it has not been diverted" to military purposes, the president said.

On Tuesday, Iran issued its toughest warning on the issue. Top nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani said that if the Security Council imposes sanctions, Iran would stop cooperating with the IAEA and conceal its nuclear activities.

"If you take harsh measures, we will hide this program. If you use the language of force, you should not expect us to act transparently," Larijani said.

Iran appears to be drawing strength for its defiance from the evident reluctance of Russia and China to endorse sanctions. The two powers hold vetoes on the Security Council.

"We see no alternative to the negotiations process," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said Tuesday. China has repeatedly urged all parties to show flexibility and pursue a peaceful settlement.

Source: Associated Press/AP Online

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