DAR AL HARB / ISLAM - THE WEST / IRAN

Iran accuses West of misinforming the world on its nuclear intentions
By George Jahn

VIENNA, Austria – Iran accused the United States and its allies Wednesday of misinforming the world about its nuclear intentions, saying they cooked up “poisonous food” and served it to the U.N. Security Council to get it to act against Tehran.

Ali Ashgar Soltanieh, Tehran's chief delegate to the International Atomic Energy Agency, also accused the United States and Israel of threatening military attacks on its nuclear facilities and said Security Council sanctions against his country were illegal.

Washington in turn criticized Tehran for ignoring Security Council demands to freeze uranium enrichment and said Iranian “intransigence” in answering questions about its nuclear program raises the level of concern that it might be seeking to make nuclear arms.

The comments, inside and on the sidelines of a 35-nation IAEA board meeting, came as part of a review of a report by its chief, Mohamed ElBaradei, confirming that Iran had defied a Security Council deadline last month and continued expanding its enrichment program.

On Thursday, the gathering was to decide on partly or fully suspending 23 technical aid programs for Iran. Ahead of that agenda item, diplomats accredited to the meeting said approval of the suspensions was virtually certain.

Any such move would be in line with existing Security Council sanctions and would come amid discussions among the five permanent Council members on possible new sanctions against Iran. Council diplomats in New York said these could include a travel ban, an expanded list of people and companies subject to an asset freeze, an arms embargo and trade restrictions, but they cautioned that differences remained.

Soltanieh accused the U.S. and Israel, of “continuing to make threats against Iran's ... (nuclear) facilities.” But he suggested that Tehran's nuclear program would survive any aggression, citing ElBaradei in declaring that nuclear “knowledge cannot be bombed.”

While not directly threatening attacks, both Israel and the U.S. have not ruled out any option in stopping what they say is Iran's weapons program.

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1) Iran accuses West of misinforming the world on its nuclear intentions