Joseph Omidvar
Once again the United Nations Security Council unanimously voted on a resolution asking Iran to halt its nuclear activities. It gave Iran 60 days to execute the contents of the resolution.
Iran promptly rejected the resolution. Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran’s Foreign Minister said: "Suspension of uranium enrichment is not an option for Iran."
Just hours before ratification of the resolution, Tehran’s Friday prayer leader, Imami Kashani, who speaks for the ruling clerics stated: "If the UN Security Council ratifies ten more resolutions, we will not suspend uranium enrichment."
Even if we neglect the reliable intelligence and evidence regarding the clandestine activities of the Iranian regime to build nuclear weapons, and if we ignore specific findings by IAEA’s chief Mohammed ElBradei regarding the existence of activities undeclared to the nuclear agency for 20 years, Iran’s disregard for the Security Council resolutions and its defiance to repeated calls by the international community for negotiations is sufficient to conclude that the Iranian regime is determined to acquire nuclear weapons. Obviously, a county with large gas and petroleum reserves (second in the world) should not insist on uranium enrichment just for nuclear energy in the face of international opposition and censure.