TEHRAN, 4 February 2005 — Iran denied yesterday US President George W. Bush’s repeated charge that it is pursuing nuclear arms, describing accusations in his State of the Union address as “baseless”, official news agency IRNA said.
In his speech on Wednesday, Bush called Iran the “world’s primary state sponsor of terror” and again accused it of seeking to develop atomic weapons.
“These claims have no basis,” IRNA quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi as saying.
“Americans are ignoring the established democracy in Iran since the 1979 revolution.”
Bush’s remarks enraged Iran’s conservative state-controlled media. State television accused Bush of trying to capture Middle East oil under the pretext of promoting democracy in the region.
“All their slogans are tricks to dominate the oil resources of this region and other strategic areas. Why is Bush only interested in promoting democracy in oil-rich regions?” asked one radio commentator.
Washington accuses Tehran of having a covert weapons program, but Iran says its nuclear facilities would only be used for peaceful power generation.
The European Union is also keeping a close watch on Iran’s nuclear program, although it does not publicly accuse the country of pursuing weapons. Germany, France and Britain, acting for the EU, are trying to persuade Iran to scrap processes that could be used to make atomic bombs in return for a package of incentives including trade deals and help with a civilian nuclear program.
“We are working with European allies to make clear to the Iranian regime that it must give up its uranium enrichment program and any plutonium reprocessing, and end its support for terror,” Bush said.
Iran’s state television accused Washington of inconsistency in its approach to atomic weapons development in the region.
“Such remarks show America’s double standards. Why are they silent about Israel’s nuclear arsenal?” state television said.
Showing pictures of civilians killed in neighboring Iraq, state television demanded Washington rethink policies which it said were creating anger in the Middle East.
“Middle Easterners have experienced America’s support for democracy. They do not believe in American-style democracy,” it said.
Meanwhile, the main Iranian opposition grouping said in Paris yesterday Iran has obtained the materials and expertise to make the triggers for an atomic bomb, bringing closer its goal of acquiring nuclear weapons later this year.
Citing secret sources inside Iran’s nuclear development program, the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) said that Tehran has produced or bought from abroad quantities of polonium-210 and beryllium - two elements required for building a “neutron initiator.” It has also developed the know-how to make a “neutron generator” which is another key part of the neutron initiator, the NCRI said.
A neutron initiator starts the chain reaction that leads to nuclear fission, and along with the nuclear fuel and the delivery system is an essential part of an atomic bomb.
“Tehran has already succeeded in using beryllium in conjunction with polonium-210 for large-scale laboratory testing purposes, and is getting very close to the point of industrial production,” said Mohammad Mohaddessin, the NCRI’s foreign affairs committee chairman.
“All these activities have been hidden from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ... They reflect an unrelenting effort to obtain nuclear weapons ... Tehran is advancing toward critical stages in its quest for a nuclear bomb,” he said.
In September, Mohaddessin said that Tehran hoped to develop a nuclear bomb “in the first half of 2005.”
