DAR AL ISLAM - IRAN: IF YOU INSTITUTE MORE SANCTIONS, WE WILL HAVE MORE NUCLEAR DEVELOPMENT

Ahmadinejad: New U.N. Sanctions Will Mean More Nuclear Development

TEHRAN, Iran — President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Monday warned that Iran would respond to additional U.N. sanctions with new nuclear advances, in yet another show of defiance to international demands that the country roll back its atomic program.

The U.N. Security Council has set a deadline of late May for Iran to halt its uranium enrichment program, warning it will gradually ratchet up its punishments. The council imposed limited sanctions in December and strengthened them slightly last month because of Iran's refusal to suspend enrichment.

The enrichment process can produce fuel for nuclear reactors or — if taken to a higher degree — the material for atomic bombs. Iran, however, denies accusations from the U.S. and some of its allies that the country is secretly developing nuclear weapons.

"After the first resolution, we undertook the nuclear fuel cycle; after the second one, we began the industrial phase of nuclear fuel; and if another resolution is issued, new capabilities of the Iranian nation will surface," the state broadcasting company's Web site quoted Ahmadinejad as saying in a speech in the southern city of Kazeroun.

The U.N.'s latest sanctions ban Iranian arms exports and freeze the assets of 28 individuals and companies involved in Iran's nuclear or ballistic missile programs.

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1) Ahmadinejad: New U.N. Sanctions Will Mean More Nuclear Development