KHONDAB, Iran, 27 August 2006 — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted yesterday that Iran is no threat to Israel as he inaugurated a heavy water production plant just five days before a UN Security Council deadline to suspend sensitive nuclear fuel cycle work.
Opening the controversial facility which the West believes may be used to acquire an atomic weapon, Ahmadinejad repeated Iran’s desire for peaceful nuclear energy, saying his country posed no threat to archfoe Israel.
“The message of the Iranian nation is peace, calm and cohabitation with all nations based on justice... We are no threat to any nation, even the Zionist regime,” he said.
“They must accept the reality of a strong Iran, developed and a supporter of peace,” he said as he opened the Arak plant which will supply heavy water to be used as cooling fluid for a 40MW research reactor due for completion by 2009. The International Atomic Energy Agency has voiced concern over the risk of diversion of nuclear materials as the research reactor could produce eight to ten kilograms of plutonium a year, enough to make at least two nuclear bombs.
The high-security complex and its approach road are protected by dozens of anti-aircraft gun positions in preparation for a possible Israeli or US airstrike against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
But the hard-line leader also said the Islamic republic would defend its right to nuclear technology “with force.”
“One cannot deprive any nation from its rights. The Iranian nation will defend its rights to nuclear technology with force,” Ahmadinejad said. “The Iranian nation is seeking nuclear energy and I am in charge of pursuing the nation’s demand.”
Western countries led by the United States believe that Iran is seeking to build an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists it only wants nuclear power for civilian use and has the right to master the required technology.
“The Islamic republic considers inauguration of this complex within the framework of its legal and international rights,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi was quoted as saying.
The Los Angeles Times reported yesterday that the Bush administration had indicated it was prepared to form an independent coalition to freeze Iranian assets and restrict trade if the UN Security Council failed to penalize Tehran for its nuclear enrichment program.
A Security Council resolution gives Iran until Aug. 31 to stop uranium enrichment, which could provide fuel to produce electricity or possibly atomic weapons, or face penalties.
US Ambassador John Bolton said in an interview late this week that the United States planned to introduce a resolution imposing penalties such as a travel ban and asset freeze for key Iranian leaders soon after the Aug. 31 deadline, the Times reported.
