- U.S. President George W. Bush said on Israeli television
he could consider using force as a last resort to press Iran to give up
its nuclear program.
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- "All options are on the table," Bush, speaking
at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, said in the interview with Channel 1 TV
broadcast on Friday.
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- In the interview, Bush said the United States and Israel
"are united in our objective to make sure that Iran does not have
a weapon."
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- Asked if that included the use of force, Bush replied:
"As I say, all options are on the table. The use of force is the last
option for any president and you know, we've used force in the recent past
to secure our country."
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- Iran angered the European Union and the United States
by resuming uranium conversion at the Isfahan plant last Monday after rejecting
an EU offer of political and economic incentives in return for giving up
its nuclear program.
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- Tehran says it aims only to produce electricity and denies
Western accusations it is seeking a nuclear bomb.
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- Bush made clear he still hoped for a diplomatic solution,
noting that EU powers Britain, Germany and France had taken the lead in
dealing with Iran.
-
- Washington last week expressed a willingness to give
negotiations on Iran's suspected nuclear weapons program more time before
getting tougher with the country.
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- "In all these instances we want diplomacy to work
and so we're working feverishly on the diplomatic route and we'll see if
we're successful or not," Bush told Channel One television.
-
- Bush has also previously said that the U.S. has not ruled
out the possibility of military strikes. But U.S. officials have played
down media speculation earlier this year they were planning military action
against Iran.
-
- French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said on
Friday that negotiations were still possible with Iran on condition the
Iranians suspend their nuclear activities.
-
- The governing board of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA) unanimously called on Iran on Thursday to halt sensitive
atomic work.
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- Douste-Blazy said the next step would be on Sept. 3 when
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei reports on Iran's activities.
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- If Iran continues to defy global demands, another IAEA
meeting will likely be held, where both Europe and Washington will push
for a referral to the United Nations Security Council for possible sanctions.
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- Iran: No compromise over Isfahan, next step enrichment
in Natanz
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- There will be no compromise over the uranium conversion
plant in Isfahan in central Iran despite the deadline set by the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran's deputy parliamentary speaker said Saturday.
-
- Mohammad-Reza Bahonar, a close aide to President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad, told the news agency Fars that further negotiations with the
European Union should only focus on reopening the central Iranian uranium
enrichment plant of Natanz.
-
- Iran has rejected Thursdays deadline by the IAEA board
of governor to close down the Isfahan plant until September 3 as "politically
motivated" saying that as signatory of the Non-Proliferation Treaty
and the IAEA Additional Protocol, the country was entitled to pursue a
civil atomic program.
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- In the Isfahan plant, yellowcake (or uranium ore) is
converted into uranium hexafluoride gas and stored inside the plant until
a political agreement is reached to feed the gas into centrifuges for uranium
enrichment in the neighbouring Natanz plant.
-
- Although Iran has constantly stressed that its atomic
program is only for peaceful use, the Western world fears that the same
process could also be used to make atomic bombs.
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