Iran seeks to redefine nuclear limits

Iran has hardened its determination to pursue its controversial nuclear programme, brushing aside US and European threats of censure while trying to create a new diplomatic framework for nonproliferation.

Iran's newly elected president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared at the UN on Saturday that nuclear power was an "inalienable right" for Iran and accused the West of practising "nuclear apartheid" by depriving it of nuclear know-how.

Iran has increasingly seized the offensive in the standoff over its nuclear efforts. And it appears to be gaining ground as it casts its clash with the West as a spearhead for ending big-power dominance.

"It is, of course, an issue of proliferation, but really it is about the nature of the [Iranian] regime, its politics, and its ambitions," says Shahram Chubin, head of research at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.

The dispute masks a power play "on both sides," between Iran and the US, says Chubin, who runs an annual arms control course for diplomats working on the Middle East. "It's a question of who is going to dominate the regional order."

In his address, Ahmadinejad accused the US of trying to divide the world into "light and dark countries".

The US was failing to abide by the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) itself, he charged, with a doctrine that includes preemptive strikes and developing a new generation of tactical nuclear weapons. And Ahmadinejad laid down a defiant marker.

"If some try to impose their will on the Iranian people through resort to a language of force and threat with Iran, we will reconsider our entire approach to the nuclear issue," the populist Iranian president said.

Washington alleges that Iran's programme is a cover for making atomic bombs, an accusation the Iranian president dismissed as a "pure propaganda ploy".

But intense lobbying to censure Iran by the United States and Great Britain, France and Germany the EU3 appear to have failed.

UN inspections in Iran have turned up no evidence of a clandestine weapons programme, but the latest report, earlier this month, said the IAEA could not rule it out.

Still, the United States and EU3 plans to have Iran referred to the UN Security Council for reporting violations and possible sanctions have unravelled, as Russia, China, India and others voiced opposition, despite direct appeals to leaders, in some cases, from President George W. Bush.

To dispel fears of Iran's nuclear intentions, Ahmadinejad spelled out acceptance of broader oversight, suggesting the involvement of third countries such as South Africa, or even private companies working with Iranian scientists.

He also appeared to indicate that Iran was constrained by Islam in developing weapons. "[I]n accordance with our religious principles, pursuit of nuclear weapons in prohibited," he said.

But that did not convince Western doubters. A US State Department official told reporters that the address was a "very aggressive speech, which would seem to cross the EU3 red line".

A British official called the speech "unhelpful", and French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said that referring Iran to the Security Council "remains on the agenda".

Iran bid for more support from nonaligned countries and sought to counter the US push to isolate the Islamic Republic when Ahmadinejad promised to share its nuclear knowledge with other Muslim countries.

Still, the offer has set off alarm bells in Western capitals. But the inability of the United States and EU to muster sufficient votes at the IAEA or Security Council to sanction Iran, for a combination of reasons, points towards a shifting nonproliferation framework.

The dispute has resulted in a diplomatic tug-of-war between the US and Iran. Washington sought to enlist the support of India, China and Russia's President Vladimir Putin.

But all three urged caution Putin, while standing beside Bush at the White House on Friday.

In Tehran, says Chubin, "they talk about the rising East, the rising Asia this is the old multipolarity: 'If we get Iran tied to Russia, China and India, then the US would not be able to do anything'."

"And the Russians almost say the same thing," adds Chubin, who visited Moscow earlier this month.

"They do it politely, but they are constantly complaining about US influence.... The Russians are not going to annoy the Americans by supporting Iran, but they are not going to make it easy for them, either."