Iran says it will push ahead with uranium enrichment after sanctions vote

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's top nuclear negotiator said the country will push forward immediately with efforts to enrich uranium after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions designed to stop the

Saturday, December 23rd 2006, 5:54 pm

By: News On 6

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) Iran's top nuclear negotiator said the country will push forward immediately with efforts to enrich uranium after the U.N. Security Council imposed sanctions designed to stop the nuclear efforts, a newspaper reported Sunday.

``From Sunday morning, we will begin activities at Natanz _ site of 3,000-centrifuge machines _ and we will drive it with full speed. It will be our immediate response to the resolution,'' Ali Larijani told the Kayhan newspaper.

On Saturday, the Security Council voted unanimously to impose sanctions on Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, increasing international pressure on the government to prove that it is not trying to make nuclear weapons.

Iran immediately rejected the resolution.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini said in response to the resolution that Iran was more determined to continue its nuclear activities.

``Our response to the resolution is continuation of peaceful nuclear activities in a more concrete, more decisive and more organized manner than before,'' Hosseini told reporters.

Larijani noted that Iran has ``said many times before that if the Westerners want to use the Security Council as an instrument, it will not affect our will. And it will make us more decisive in realizing our nuclear aims.''

He said the Security Council had discredited itself by approving the resolution.

The result of two months of tough negotiation, the resolution orders all countries to stop supplying Iran with materials and technology that could contribute to its nuclear and missile programs. It also freezes the Iranian assets of 10 key companies and 12 individuals related to those programs.

If Iran refuses to comply, the council warned it would adopt further nonmilitary sanctions, but the resolution emphasized the importance of diplomacy in seeking guarantees ``that Iran's nuclear program is exclusively for peaceful purposes.''

Iran insists its nuclear program is intended to produce energy, but the Americans and Europeans suspect its ultimate goal is the production of weapons.

The U.S. has said it hopes the resolution will clear the way for tougher measures by individual countries, particularly Russia.

The Bush administration had pushed for tougher penalties. But Russia and China, which both have strong commercial ties to Tehran, balked.

To get their votes, the resolution dropped a ban on international travel by Iranian officials involved in nuclear and missile development and specified the banned items and technologies.