- TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran would
both retaliate and accelerate its drive to master nuclear technology if
the United States or Israel attacked its atomic facilities, Iran's chief
nuclear negotiator warned on Sunday.
-
- Hassan Rohani, secretary-general of Iran's Supreme National
Security Council, also told Reuters there was nothing the West could offer
Tehran that would persuade it to scrap a nuclear program which Washington
fears may be used to make bombs.
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- Asked about a possible attack by the United States or
Israel, which have both said a nuclear-armed Iran would be unacceptable,
Rohani said: "If such an attack (against Iran's atomic facilities)
takes place then of course we will retaliate and we will definitely accelerate
our activities to complete our (nuclear) fuel cycle." Speaking in
a rare interview, Rohani said Iran's ability to produce its own nuclear
parts had made it "invulnerable" to attack since it could simply
rebuild whatever was destroyed.
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- "But I do not think the United States itself will
take such a risk ... They know our capabilities for retaliating against
such attacks," the mid-ranking cleric added.
-
- Iran has ballistic missiles which can hit Israel and
U.S. bases in the Gulf and has vowed to retaliate strongly should either
country try to repeat Israel's 1981 successful bombing of Iraq's Osirak
nuclear reactor.
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- NO INCENTIVE BIG ENOUGH
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- Iran says its nuclear program will be used to generate
electricity, not make bombs. Washington says Tehran is using a civilian
nuclear program as a front for weapons development.
-
- President Bush has refused to rule out military strikes
against Iran to prevent it from developing nuclear weapons. But Secretary
of State Condoleezza Rice said on Friday a U.S. attack was "not on
the agenda."
-
- Vice President Dick Cheney last month warned Israel could
in the future try to attack Iran's nuclear facilities. Israel -- believed
to be the Middle East's only nuclear armed state -- has not said it will
attack.
-
- The European Union, led by Britain, Germany and France,
is trying to persuade Iran to turn a temporary freeze on sensitive nuclear
work, like uranium enrichment, into permanent cessation in return for economic
and political incentives.
-
- But Rohani said even the removal of U.S. sanctions on
Iran or security guarantees from Washington would not be enough to tempt
Tehran to give up its nuclear drive.
-
- "Uranium enrichment is Iran's right, based on the
NPT's (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty's) article four ... I do not think
anyone in Iran would exchange or swap this right for anything else."
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- EU MUST BE MORE SERIOUS
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- EU diplomats have voiced frustration at Iran's refusal
to give way on what it calls its "red line" -- developing a full
nuclear fuel cycle -- saying Tehran's stance is "unacceptable."
-
- Rohani complained the EU talks, due to resume in Geneva
this week, have yet to result in anything concrete thus far.
-
- "Our expectations were higher. We believe the Europeans
should be more serious," he said.
-
- Rohani said Iran would review progress in the talks in
mid-March before taking any decision on whether to resume uranium enrichment
which it froze in November.
-
- "If we witness considerable progress in the talks
our patience will increase, if we observe no progress, it will shorten
our patience. But, as I have said before, the period of (enrichment) suspension
is limited to some months, not a year."
-
- EU diplomats in Vienna have told Reuters Iran is breaking
the spirit of its agreement to freeze enrichment by conducting quality
control checks of enrichment centrifuge parts.
-
- But Rohani insisted Iran was sticking to the deal it
made with the EU in Paris last November.
-
- "We are fully committed to whatever we have agreed
with the Europeans ... I can tell you that we have not contradicted the
Paris agreement at all," he said.
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