Rice: ‘Strong steps’ may be needed to stop Iran

WASHINGTON - Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Wednesday that Iran’s assertion it has enriched uranium will require “strong steps” from the United Nations Security Council.

Rice said the announcement from Tehran was further proof it was not adhering to requirements already set out by the international community.

“I do think the Security Council will need to take into consideration this move by Iran,” Rice said at the State Department. She urged that when the council reconvenes it take “strong steps to make certain (to) maintain the credibility of the international community.”

Rice’s comments ratchets up earlier U.S. pressure, as well as that from Russia and the European Union, in condemning Iran’s assertion that it had enriched uranium in defiance of a U.N. demand, though Moscow said force could not resolve the dispute.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on Tuesday that Iran had enriched uranium for the first time and would now press ahead with industrial-scale enrichment. His triumphant announcement keeps the Islamic Republic on a collision course with the United Nations and with Western countries convinced that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, not just fuel for power stations as it insists.

In a nationally televised ceremony, he said the country’s nuclear ambitions are peaceful and warning the West that trying to force Iran to abandon enrichment would “cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians.”

Iran intends to move toward large-scale uranium enrichment involving 54,000 centrifuges, the country’s deputy nuclear chief said Wednesday, signaling its resolve to expand a program the international community has insisted it halt.

Response options
President Bush this week dismissed media reports of plans for strikes on Iran as “wild speculation” and said force might not be needed to curb its nuclear ambitions.

NBC VIDEO Iran defiant in face of world's criticism April 12: As the world lines up to criticize Iran's nuclear program, the country's president defiantly says, "All Iranians demand the benefits of nuclear technology." NBC's Andrea Mitchell reports. Nightly News

The Russian Foreign Ministry urged Tehran to stop all enrichment work, saying its proclaimed atomic advance ran counter to the decisions of the International Atomic Energy Agency and the U.N. Security Council. But a senior Iranian official ruled out any retreat.

“Iran’s nuclear activities are like a waterfall which has begun to flow. It cannot be stopped,” said the official, who asked not to be named, referring to the Russian demand.

Separately, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the use of force could not solve the stand-off over Iran’s nuclear program, but he did not reiterate Moscow’s past opposition to sanctions.

“If such plans exist they will not be able to solve this problem. On the contrary they could create a dangerous explosive blaze in the Middle East, where there are already enough blazes,” he was quoted by Russian news agencies as saying.

Renewed intervention
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei will visit Iran on Thursday to seek full Iranian cooperation with the Security Council and IAEA inquiries, a trip now clouded by Ahmadinejad’s speech.

The IAEA, whose inspectors are in Iran investigating nuclear sites, has given no comment on Iran’s statements.

But an agency diplomat said, “The timing was strange but it may have been intended by them to improve their bargaining position.”

The Security Council has told Iran to halt all sensitive atomic activities and on March 29 it asked the IAEA, the U.N. nuclear watchdog, to report on its compliance in 30 days.

‘Dangerous activities’
Rice also telephoned ElBaradei to ask him to reinforce demands that Iran comply with its nonproliferation requirements when he holds talks in Tehran on Friday.

“This is not a question of Iran’s right to civil nuclear power,” she said. “This is a question of ... the world does not believe that Iran should have the capability and the technology that could lead to a nuclear weapon.”

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