Iran will review relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) if the UN Security Council adopts a European draft resolution imposing sanctions, Tehran's nuclear negotiator said on Friday.
While nuclear envoy Ali Larijani met senior Russian officials in Moscow, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in Tehran that Iran's enemies could not do a "damn thing" to stop its nuclear fuel programme.
The EU draft resolution demands nations prevent the sale and supply of equipment, technology and financing contributing to Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. Drawn up by Britain, France and Germany, the draft would also ban travel and freeze foreign assets of people and entities involved in the two programmes.
Russia, a veto-wielding Security Council member like Britain and France, has proposed sweeping deletions, including the travel and assets provisions. It says such changes would avoid isolating Iran and encourage it to negotiate seriously.
"We will review our relations with the IAEA if the UN accepts the Euro-troika resolution without taking into account the amendments made by Russia," Larijani was quoted as saying by Interfax news agency.
Larijani, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, did not specify what the "review" could mean. Iran has repeatedly threatened to reassess ties with the IAEA if faced with sanctions and diplomats have said this would likely entail curbing access of the UN watchdog's inspectors to Iranian nuclear sites, but not ending it entirely.
Last summer, Iran temporarily denied visas to some inspectors and curtailed the frequency of visits to atomic sites by inspectors already in the country to convey its anger with big power pressure on it to stop enriching uranium.
TOTAL BAN ON INSPECTORS UNLIKELY:
Diplomats said Iran would be unlikely to ban all IAEA activity in response to the relatively mild initial sanctions now being considered as this would harden suspicions it seeks atom bombs and alienate trade partners, including Russia.
Larijani said later, after meeting Russian Security Council head Igor Ivanov, that the sanctions deliberations by EU powers, the United States, Russia and China were counterproductive.
"We adhere to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. If there are any disagreements, we are ready to solve them through talks. Those insisting on adopting the resolution deliberately seek to make the situation worse," he said in a statement. "Nuclear weapons have no role in Iran's military doctrine."
Ahmadinejad, quoted by the IRNA state agency, said Iran's opponents working on a sanctions resolution "wrongly express concern about Iran's possible diversion from a peaceful path".
"By God's grace our powerful nation will continue its path and the enemy cannot do a damn thing on the nuclear issue." His words echoed those of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, who said "America cannot do a damn thing" after Iranian students stormed the US embassy in 1979 and took dozens of diplomats hostage.
In remarks that also referred to 1979, Larijani described Russia as "one of the centres adding to the balance in the world order". Russia is under US pressure to agree to tougher wording on sanctions.
Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday Moscow would accept limited UN actions against Iran if they had a defined time frame and there was an agreed mechanism for lifting them.
US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice spoke via telephone on Wednesday with Lavrov to discuss the Iran resolution, Rice's spokesman Sean McCormack said. "She's doing her part to get this resolution over the goal line," he told reporters in Washington.