Tweet
Supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei issues warning
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran has vowed to strike at U.S. interests worldwide if it is attacked by the United States, which is keeping military options open in case diplomacy fails to curb Tehran's nuclear program.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the threat on Wednesday, two days before the U.N. nuclear watchdog reports on whether Iran is meeting Security Council demands to halt uranium enrichment.
Iran says it will not stop enrichment, which it says is purely for civilian purposes and not part of what the United States says is a clandestine effort to make atomic bombs.
"The Americans should know that if they assault Iran their interests will be harmed anywhere in the world that is possible," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state television.
"The Iranian nation will respond to any blow with double the intensity," he said.
Washington, backed by Britain and France, has been pushing for sanctions if, as it expects, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports that Iran has flouted U.N. demands.
But Russia and China, the U.N. Security Council's other two veto-holding permanent members, oppose any embargo.
Iran's nuclear energy head, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, held talks with IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei in Vienna on Wednesday.
"The talks were encouraging," Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told Reuters, adding the two sides discussed ways to resolve outstanding issues with the IAEA. He gave no details.
No time
But a Vienna-based diplomat said before the meeting it would be too late to alter decisively the IAEA report, due to be submitted to the Security Council by Friday, because inspectors would not have time to verify issues.
"All ElBaradei can do is note any information received and say he could not assess whether it was significant," said the diplomat, who asked not to be named.
ElBaradei visited Tehran this month but his proposal that Iran "pause" enrichment was rebuffed, diplomats have said.
British Foreign Minister Jack Straw sought to enlist China's backing on Wednesday, saying Beijing should use its growing diplomatic muscle to solve disputes with international partners.
"China's support for this goal, as a permanent member of the Security Council, has been valuable already and will be increasingly crucial in securing international consensus in the face of Iran's intransigence," Straw said in London.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday it was time the Security Council drafted a Chapter 7 resolution.
This would be binding under international law and could lead to sanctions or even military intervention, although another resolution would be required to specify either step.
In response to the U.S. refusal to rule out military action, Iran has warned Washington that its forces in the region were vulnerable. Iran's war games in the Gulf this month were widely seen as a veiled threat to a vital oil shipping route.
"The security of the Persian Gulf is very well tied up to the world's economic affairs and it would be quite natural for Iran not to sit idle vis-a-vis any military adventure," Iranian legislator Alaeddin Broujerdi told reporters in London.
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran has vowed to strike at U.S. interests worldwide if it is attacked by the United States, which is keeping military options open in case diplomacy fails to curb Tehran's nuclear program.
Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made the threat on Wednesday, two days before the U.N. nuclear watchdog reports on whether Iran is meeting Security Council demands to halt uranium enrichment.
Iran says it will not stop enrichment, which it says is purely for civilian purposes and not part of what the United States says is a clandestine effort to make atomic bombs.
"The Americans should know that if they assault Iran their interests will be harmed anywhere in the world that is possible," Khamenei was quoted as saying by state television.
"The Iranian nation will respond to any blow with double the intensity," he said.
Washington, backed by Britain and France, has been pushing for sanctions if, as it expects, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reports that Iran has flouted U.N. demands.
But Russia and China, the U.N. Security Council's other two veto-holding permanent members, oppose any embargo.
Iran's nuclear energy head, Gholamreza Aghazadeh, held talks with IAEA head Mohamed ElBaradei in Vienna on Wednesday.
"The talks were encouraging," Mohammad Saeedi, deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, told Reuters, adding the two sides discussed ways to resolve outstanding issues with the IAEA. He gave no details.
No time
But a Vienna-based diplomat said before the meeting it would be too late to alter decisively the IAEA report, due to be submitted to the Security Council by Friday, because inspectors would not have time to verify issues.
"All ElBaradei can do is note any information received and say he could not assess whether it was significant," said the diplomat, who asked not to be named.
ElBaradei visited Tehran this month but his proposal that Iran "pause" enrichment was rebuffed, diplomats have said.
British Foreign Minister Jack Straw sought to enlist China's backing on Wednesday, saying Beijing should use its growing diplomatic muscle to solve disputes with international partners.
"China's support for this goal, as a permanent member of the Security Council, has been valuable already and will be increasingly crucial in securing international consensus in the face of Iran's intransigence," Straw said in London.
U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said on Tuesday it was time the Security Council drafted a Chapter 7 resolution.
This would be binding under international law and could lead to sanctions or even military intervention, although another resolution would be required to specify either step.
In response to the U.S. refusal to rule out military action, Iran has warned Washington that its forces in the region were vulnerable. Iran's war games in the Gulf this month were widely seen as a veiled threat to a vital oil shipping route.
"The security of the Persian Gulf is very well tied up to the world's economic affairs and it would be quite natural for Iran not to sit idle vis-a-vis any military adventure," Iranian legislator Alaeddin Broujerdi told reporters in London.
Comment