Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmedinejad speaks during a conference in Tehran on October 26. He has attracted criticism in the international arena because of his anti-Israel comments and his insistence on pushing through his country's nuclear programme. - REUTERS
TEHRAN (AP):
RAISING THE stakes before a possible showdown at the United Nations nuclear agency, Iran's Parliament yesterday approved a bill requiring the Government to block in-depth inspections of its nuclear facilities if the nation is referred to the Security Council for possible sanctions.
Of 197 lawmakers present, 183 voted in favour of the bill. The session was broadcast live on state-run radio, four days before an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board is to consider referring Tehran to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions, because of its nuclear programme.
When the bill becomes law, as expected, it is likely to strengthen the Government's hand in resisting international pressure to permanently abandon uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to produce fuel for nuclear reactors or for an atomic bomb.
CLEAR PATH FOR BILL
The United States charges that Iran is trying to build a nuclear weapon. Iran says its nuclear programme is for generating electricity.
The bill will now go to the Guardian Council, a hard-line constitutional watchdog, for ratification. The council is expected to approve the measure.
"If Iran's nuclear file is referred or reported to the U.N. Security Council, the government will be required to cancel all voluntary measures it has taken and implement all scientific, research and executive programmes to enable the rights of the nation under the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty," lawmaker Kazem Jalali quoted the bill as saying.
Cancelling voluntary measures means Iran would stop allowing in-depth inspections of its nuclear facilities by the IAEA and would resume uranium enrichment.
Iran resumed uranium-reprocessing activities at its Isfahan Uranium Conversion Facility in August, a step before enrichment. It has said it preferred a negotiated solution to begin uranium enrichment.
Iran has been allowing IAEA inspectors to carry out short-notice inspections of its nuclear facilities.
The U.S. and Europeans want Iran to permanently halt uranium enrichment, a technology that gives Iran the capacity to produce materials for a nuclear bomb if it decides to.
