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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Iran defiant on nuclear deadline | |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Tehran will not yield to pressure, as a UN deadline for Iran to stop sensitive nuclear work expires. | |
| "Iran will not back down an inch... and will not accept being deprived of its rights," he said in a speech. | |
| The UN had set a 31 August deadline for Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment and re-processing activities. | |
| If Iran is found not to comply, the US wants UN powers to discuss a resolution which could impose sanctions on Iran. | |
| The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is due to submit a report to the UN Security Council which is expected to say that Iran has not complied with the UN demand. | |
| US ambassador to the UN John Bolton has said Iran is well aware that ignoring the UN demands could trigger sanctions. | |
| He said the five permanent members of the Security Council had repeatedly warned that failure to meet the deadline would result in them seeking sanctions. | |
| Key nuclear sites US state department spokesman Sean McCormack said US Under-Secretary of State Nicholas Burns and senior officials from the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany would meet in Europe early next week to discuss the issue. | |
| What form any sanctions against Iran would take has yet to be determined. | What form any sanctions against Iran would take has yet to be determined. |
| Russia and China, which can both veto action at the Security Council, have urged patience and said they would not support severe punishments. | Russia and China, which can both veto action at the Security Council, have urged patience and said they would not support severe punishments. |
| Iran maintains it has a right to a nuclear programme which, it says, has a purely civilian aspect. | |
| But Western powers accuse Iran of trying covertly to develop a nuclear bomb. | |
| US claims | US claims |
| A senior White House official has told the BBC the US continues to detect low level uranium enrichment by Iran. | A senior White House official has told the BBC the US continues to detect low level uranium enrichment by Iran. |
| Such activity would be in defiance of demands from both the UN and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). | Such activity would be in defiance of demands from both the UN and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). |
| ARAK PROJECT Located at Khondab, some 190km (120 miles) south-west of TehranNew plant now produces up to 16t of heavy water per year - Iran wants to produce up to 80t a yearWestern diplomats say producing heavy water itself does not violate non-proliferation treatiesWater to be used to cool a new research reactor currently under constructionReactor will produce plutonium by-product that could be used to make atomic warheadsReactor expected to be completed by 2009 Source: News agencies and Iranian government | ARAK PROJECT Located at Khondab, some 190km (120 miles) south-west of TehranNew plant now produces up to 16t of heavy water per year - Iran wants to produce up to 80t a yearWestern diplomats say producing heavy water itself does not violate non-proliferation treatiesWater to be used to cool a new research reactor currently under constructionReactor will produce plutonium by-product that could be used to make atomic warheadsReactor expected to be completed by 2009 Source: News agencies and Iranian government |
| The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Iranians were trying "to familiarise themselves with the process of enriching uranium" and the technology associated with the product. | The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Iranians were trying "to familiarise themselves with the process of enriching uranium" and the technology associated with the product. |
| However, they said the end product remained at such a low could not used for any possible nuclear weapon purposes. | However, they said the end product remained at such a low could not used for any possible nuclear weapon purposes. |
| On Saturday Mr Ahmadinejad inaugurated a new phase of a heavy water reactor project in Arak. | |
| Heavy water reactors produce plutonium which can be an alternative route to a nuclear device, the other being highly enriched uranium. | Heavy water reactors produce plutonium which can be an alternative route to a nuclear device, the other being highly enriched uranium. |
| Observers say the move was aimed at sending out a signal of defiance ahead of the Security Council's deadline. | Observers say the move was aimed at sending out a signal of defiance ahead of the Security Council's deadline. |
| After inaugurating the heavy water plant, Mr Ahmadinejad again said Iran would never abandon its nuclear programme, but that nuclear weapons were not its goal. | After inaugurating the heavy water plant, Mr Ahmadinejad again said Iran would never abandon its nuclear programme, but that nuclear weapons were not its goal. |
| "Basically, there is no talk of nuclear weapons," he said. | "Basically, there is no talk of nuclear weapons," he said. |
| "There is no discussion of nuclear weapons. We are not a threat to anybody, even the Zionist regime which is a definite enemy of the people of the region." | "There is no discussion of nuclear weapons. We are not a threat to anybody, even the Zionist regime which is a definite enemy of the people of the region." |