AP, Tehran, August 3, 2008 (excerpts) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted Saturday that Tehran will not give up its “nuclear rights,” according to the official Web site of the Iranian leader, in remarks that rebuffed an informal deadline set by the U.N. Security Council’s five permanent members and Germany.
Any participation by Iran in international talks on the nuclear issue would “definitely be aimed at reinforcing” those rights, Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in the report.
The Web site said Ahmadinejad made the remarks during discussions with Syrian President Beshar Assad, who arrived on a two-day visit.
“The Iranian nation will not give up a single iota of its nuclear rights,” Ahmadinejad said.
Assad, who has been seeking a more prominent Mideast role for Syria, promised Sarkozy during a visit to France in July to try to persuade Iran to offer proof to the West that it isn’t developing nuclear weapons.
Iran’s claims that it only wants nuclear technology for the production of energy have failed to quell Western suspicions that it is seeking a pathway to an atomic bomb.
Tehran was given an informal two-week deadline, set July 19 by the Security Council’s permanent members plus Germany, to stop expanding uranium enrichment _ at least temporarily _ in exchange for their commitment to stop seeking new U.N. sanctions.
The deadline expires this weekend.
Ahmadinejad’s stance signaled both a failure of Assad’s mission and a rejection of the deadline.