Bush Warns Iran in Nuclear Dispute

31/08/2006| IslamWeb

George Bush, the US president, has warned Iran of "consequences" after the United Nations nuclear watchdog said it had resumed enriching uranium in defiance of a UN deadline.

A leaked report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), said that Iran had resumed the enrichment despite an August 31 deadline imposed by the UN Security Council to halt such work or face sanctions.

"It is time for Iran to make a choice," Bush said on Thursday.

"We will continue to work closely with our allies to find a diplomatic solution, but there must be consequences for Iran's defiance and we must not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon."

However, a senior UN official told the AFP news agency that UN nuclear inspectors had found no "concrete proof" that Iran's nuclear program was of a military nature.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, the Iranian president, said on Thursday that Iran "will not yield to pressure and will not accept any violation of its rights" regarding nuclear power.

Iran says its nuclear program is solely for peaceful purposes to generate energy, however Western governments have accused it of trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Photo Caption

George Bush, the US president