Tehran defies US with nuclear program

Iran has vowed to continue its nuclear program and is demanding that sanctions against it should be lifted before it will agree to international inspections of its nuclear facilities.

After talks with the Foreign Minister, Alexander Downer, President Mohammad Khatami said Iran had the right to develop a nuclear energy program.

President Khatami said there were no plans to develop nuclear weapons, and he rejected Mr Downer's call to allow in inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

But he agreed to firm action against al-Qaeda.

He also supported the introduction of a democratic, stable government in Iraq, easing fears that Iran would help to set up a neighbouring Islamic state.

Mr Downer said he told Mr Khatami that the Riyadh bombings could have been prevented if senior al-Qaeda figures in Iran had been arrested. He also said Iran could not underestimate the determination of the West to stop terrorism.

"I said the same thing in relation to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction," Mr Downer said.

"These issues of terrorism and WMD are the major issues for most of the world today and we want them resolved. It would be unacceptable if Iran moved to develop a nuclear weapons capability."

Mr Downer said he urged Iran to sign the international nuclear inspections protocol to "reassure the international community of its peaceful intentions".

He issued a veiled warning that "what happened in Iraq is an illustration the world has changed, and changed big time".

Mr Khatami wanted assurances that "we can be assisted in being given the rights for peaceful use of nuclear energy".

Iran's Foreign Minister, Kamal Kharrazi, said sanctions should be lifted because Iran has "a natural right to make use of modern technology".

The United States has expressed fears that Iran's development of a uranium enrichment plant could be the first step in developing nuclear weapons.

In February Iran said it had discovered and extracted uranium to produce nuclear energy, but it insisted its nuclear power program was strictly for civilian use.

It said it had invited IAEA inspectors to verify the facilities.

Iran, which is a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, rejected claims that it was trying to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

"We are ready to accept inspectors to check our [nuclear] activities in order to reveal the lies told by others," Mr Khatami said on February 2.

In his meeting with Mr Downer, Mr Khatami attacked terrorism and US unilateralism. "We stand in need of peace and security in the world and this cannot be established by resorting to force," he said.

Iran has arrested many al-Qaeda figures, he said.

The US is pressing Iran to co-operate with the investigation into the recent bombings of foreign compounds in Saudi Arabia and to hand over operatives of al-Qaeda believed by US intelligence officials to have been working in Iranian territory.