Iran defiant on nuclear deal

MAHMOUD Ahmadinejad, Iran's president, vowed last night that the West will not deprive Iran of nuclear technology, sounding a defiant note as the big powers stepped up pressure to accept a new package of incentives to stop sensitive nuclear activities.

Mr Ahmadinejad did not directly mention the package agreed a day earlier by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany, which calls on Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and come back to the negotiating table over its nuclear programme. But he insisted on Iran's right to pursue nuclear technology.

"The efforts of some western countries to deprive us will not bear any fruit," he said, according to the state news agency IRNA. "The reason of their opposition is not their claim of concern over nuclear weapons, but Iran's access to the technology that means opening the way for all independent countries, especially Islamic countries to the advanced technology," he said after talks with the head of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference.

He said Iran has co-operated with the UN nuclear watchdog agency and indirectly blamed Israel for the pressure on Tehran to give up enrichment. "Unfortunately, some who have huge arsenals of nuclear weapons and are not members of [the non-proliferation treaty], are today in the position of decision-making and want to deprive us from our inalienable rights," he said.

The united front among the United States, Europe, Russia and China - reached in talks in Vienna on Thursday - puts unprecedented pressure on Tehran to accept the deal. Condoleezza Rice, the US secretary of state, said yesterday that Tehran must respond quickly or face UN sanctions.

Details of the offer have not been made public, and a senior US state department official in Vienna said the Iranians will be given the package in the next few days.

Diplomats in Vienna said the deal outlines incentives for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment and return to the negotiating table - with the US included in the talks.

Uranium enrichment is a crucial process that can produce either fuel for a nuclear reactor or the material needed for a bomb.

The US and several European countries believe Iran is using its civilian nuclear programme as a cover to produce nuclear weapons. Tehran has denied this, saying its programme is merely to generate electricity, not bombs.

Iranian state media were dismissive of Thursday's gathering in Vienna, but gave no reaction to the package.

"The noisy 5+1 meeting ended without a new proposal for Iran," state television commented during its report on the gathering in Vienna.

The US announced earlier this week that it would enter direct talks with Iran if it agrees to the suspension - the first time it has agreed to such a meeting since the 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled its ally, the Shah of Iran.

Mohammad Saeedi, the deputy head of Iran's nuclear programme, was quoted yesterday as ruling out the US condition.

"Tehran is determined to conclude its peaceful nuclear programme," he said, according to the ISNA news agency. "The Iranian people will not allow us to suspend enrichment."

Responding to the US demand for a suspension of enrichment before any direct negotiations between the two countries, he said: "The conditions set by the US for joining talks with Iran were a big insult to the Iranian nation.

"Accepting the US conditions is almost impossible."

The ISNA report did not say when he spoke, and it was not known if it was before or after the agreement was announced.

But an Iranian analyst said the mounting pressure narrows Iran's room to manoeuvre - particular after its longtime allies Russia and China signed on to the deal.

"Such unprecedented unity in the international community, including the representatives of Russia and China, has put Iranian officials in an awkward position. They need more time to make decision," said Mostafa Mirzaian, a political analyst.

Throughout the international impasse over Iran's nuclear programme, Russia and China - major trading partners for Iran - have called for a diplomatic solution. The US, Britain and France, who have called for strong measures, need the co-operation of Russia and China to take such a step.

The German foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, said yesterday he was optimistic Iran would accept. "We are hopeful that the Iranian side, acting with a sentiment of responsibility and fastidiousness, will examine the proposal and that a positive approach will emerge," he said.

France and the EU also called for Iran to quickly take the offer.

Iran has said it will not give up its right under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty to enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel.

Iran announced on 11 April that it had enriched uranium for the first time, using 164 centrifuges.

Enrichment can produce either fuel for a nuclear reactor or material for a warhead - but tens of thousands of centrifuges are needed to do either on a large scale.