Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki lashed out at the UN atomic watchdog on Monday, saying it was implementing “law of the jungle”, as Britain and Germany warned of new sanctions against Tehran.
A defiant Mottaki said Tehran will continue to enrich uranium, the most controversial aspect of its nuclear programme, a day after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s government declared plans to build 10 new enrichment plants.
In a separate remark, Iranian parliament speaker Ali Larijani questioned the importance of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), raising concerns about how long Tehran would remain a member given its determination to pursue its nuclear programme in defiance of international censure.
Mottaki said Friday’s resolution passed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was “illogical” and “destroys” the very foundation on which the nuclear body is based.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in for a second term as Iran’s president Wednesday while security forces battled hundreds of protesters chanting “Death to the Dictator” in the streets around parliament where the ceremony was held.
Key opposition leaders, moderate lawmakers and all three of Ahmadinejad’s election challengers boycotted the swearing in ceremony. State-run Press TV said more than 5,000 security forces were in the streets around parliament and police with sniffer dogs patrolled the area after the opposition called for demonstrations to coincide with the inauguration.
Hundreds of protesters chanted “Death to the Dictator” before security forces broke up a demonstration near parliament, striking people with batons and blasting them with pepper spray, witnesses said.
Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei called on Friday for an end to street protests over last week’s disputed presidential election, siding with declared winner Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
making his first public appearance after daily demonstrations over the official results, Khamenei ruled out any major fraud in the conduct of the poll and warned that the defeated candidates would be held to account over any renewed violence on the streets.
“The people have chosen whom they wanted,” the supreme leader said in his sermon at the main weekly prayers in Tehran, which was broadcast live across the nation after a week of unrest that has unnerved the regime.
“I see some people more suitable for serving the country than others but the people made their choice,” he said to cheers from the tens of thousands of faithful who included the victorious hardline incumbent.
Tens of thousands of Iranians marched in quiet defiance on Wednesday in protest against moderate Mirhossein Mousavi’s election defeat, ahead of a day of mourning he has called for those killed in clashes.
In a fifth successive day of protests, Mousavi supporters demonstrated in central Tehran against the official victory of hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in Friday’s vote, which has caused the worst unrest since the 1979 Islamic revolution.
At least seven people were killed in street battles in Tehran on Monday, according to state media. Other protests have flared up in cities elsewhere in Iran.
