Iran not to give up nuclear program: Ahmadinejad
Tehran : Iran will proceed with its civilian nuclear energy research program despite possible new economic sanctions against the Middle East country, the Iranian president said Friday.
A new draft resolution of the 15-nation UN Security Council (UNSC) on Iran, issued Thursday, stipulates sanctions against 10 Iranian companies and three companies of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, an elite military organization in the country.
"Iran has developed nuclear cycle technology and has no intention of giving up its civilian program," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said.
The draft resolution, which seeks to impose further sanctions on Iran over its failure to suspend uranium enrichment, has been prepared by the Iran-Six, comprising Germany and the five permanent Security Council members - the US, Britain, France, Russia and China.
"The West have been pressurising Iran for 28 years and accuse us of having no freedom and democracy in our country, and they are also concerned that Iran will deviate from its peaceful nuclear program. They should know that the world is concerned by their actions." Ahmadinejad said.
The new draft document says all the companies facing possible sanctions - the Ammunition and Metallurgy industrial group, the Karaj nuclear research center near Tehran, and the Sepah bank - were associated with Iran's nuclear research program or ballistic missile development.
The UN could also apply sanctions against 15 individuals, including eight top managers of state companies and seven key figures in the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps, which is also responsible for Iran's missile forces. The draft resolution says all financial assets of the companies and individuals must be frozen.
The document also provides for an embargo on weapons supplies from Iran and urges all countries to stop arms exports to the country. The draft resolution bans new grants, financial aid or loans to the Iranian government, except humanitarian programs.
The draft document, which the UNSC will vote on next week, also gives Iran 60 days to abandon its nuclear programme.
