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Iran digs in for showdown with West
Irna
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad greets the crowd as he begins his speech in city of Zanjan in this April 27, 2006.
By Stefan Smith
AFP
TEHRAN
Petroleumworld.com 04 28 06
Iran's hardline leaders were Friday digging in for a major showdown with the West over their disputed nuclear drive, pledging that not even sanctions or military action could force a climb down.
True to its word, the regime has defied a UN Security Council demand to freeze uranium enrichment by Friday.
"The Iranian nation does not hold any esteem for such pointless resolutions," hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said as the deadline expired.
He also lashed out at "corrupt enemies and arrogant powers", vowing that "the Iranian nation is ready to defend its rights with its bare hands".
For the country's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the crisis is merely an extension of US efforts to enact regime change and is now reaching a defining moment. Backing down, he has told the country, is not an option.
"If the Iranian people and the government retreat from their right to nuclear technology, the American adventure will not end and they will come up with another pretext," Khamenei said in March.
"Any retreat would amount to losing the country's independence. The way chosen by Iran is a path with no return."
Although Iran says it only wants to make reactor fuel, enrichment can also be extended to make weapons.
Western powers, convinced Iran wants to acquire the nuclear bomb or at least the capacity to make one, are now trying to bring veto-wielding Council members Russia and China on board and step up Security Council action.
Aside from the danger of sanctions, the United States has not ruled out military
action against a country it has lumped into an "axis of evil".
Over the past week, Iranian officials have threatened to kick out UN inspectors, quit the Non-Proliferation Treaty and hide its nuclear activities.
In the event of a US attack, Khamenei also threatened Washington with global "harm".
Analysts believe that the regime's increasingly defiant tone highlights one of several convictions within Iran's leadership, totally dominated by religious right-wingers since Ahmadinejad's shock election win last June.
"The regime is very confident. It feels it has popular support," explained an Iranian writer who spoke on condition of anonymity. "After a bit of a shaky start, Ahmadinejad is actually growing in stature."
Since taking office, Ahmadinejad has embraced nationalistic positions -- hammering home Iran's "right" to have a nuclear programme and drawing on the seep sense of national pride shared by many ordinary Iranians.
Although his anti-Israeli outbursts are causing alarm in the West, many Iranian observers say his straight-talking has cemented his stature at home. Furthermore, the reformist opposition appears to have gone into hibernation.
"To be honest, I don't think the regime has felt so sure of itself for years," said the writer.
On the international front, Iran's leaders also see the tide flowing in their favour.
"The leadership has calculated that oil prices and the situation of American troops in Iraq means there is only a minimal risk" of sanctions or an attack, another Iranian analyst said.
"Put simply, Iran won't back down because it doesn't have to. The regime has a window of opportunity to advance the nuclear programme, and is seizing that opportunity."
But the question remains of how far the regime is willing to push the envelope.
"At some point they may say they're willing to negotiate with the Americans, but from a position of strength," a former Iranian diplomat told AFP. "The problem, however, is that it may be too late."
AFP 28 04 06 0932 GMT
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