Hassan Rohani

The International Atomic Energy Agency unanimously adopted a resolution Sept. 18 calling on Iran to suspend all activities related to uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to build an atom bomb.

But on Sept. 19, Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani rejected the demand in the resolution, sponsored by Britain, France and Germany, and threatened to end snap checks of atomic facilities if the case was sent to the U.N. Security Council.

President Mohammad Khatami vowed Iran would resist "exorbitant demands of the great powers" and described the IAEA ultimatum as "a sign of the moral decadence of the world and the pre-eminence of force and hypocrisy in international relations."

Government spokesman Abdollah Ramazanzadeh asserted any decision regarding the enrichment of uranium was for Tehran alone to take.

The Japan Times Weekly: Sept. 25, 2004
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