After three weeks of intense negotiations, the 15-member council finally agreed on a statement March 29 designed to put Iran on notice that even its closest allies -- Russia and China -- want answers about its nuclear program, and quickly.

Iranian U.N. Ambassador Javad Zarif said his government would respond to the Security Council statement, but he warned that "Iran is a country that is allergic to pressure and to threats and intimidation.

"Iran is committed to nonproliferation and Iran does not want to produce nuclear weapons," he said, but "Iran insists on its right to have access to nuclear technology for explicitly peaceful purposes. We will not abandon that claim to our legitimate right."

The Japan Times Weekly: April 8, 2006
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