Admiral vows Iran won’t retreat in nuclear standoff

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Feb. 25 – A senior Iranian navy admiral who was formerly the Islamic Republic’s Defence Minister vowed on Sunday that Tehran would not retreat in its nuclear standoff with the West. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Feb. 25 – A senior Iranian navy admiral who was formerly the Islamic Republic’s Defence Minister vowed on Sunday that Tehran would not retreat in its nuclear standoff with the West.

“Iran will not halt in its [nuclear”> path”, Rear-Admiral Ali Shamkhani, who currently heads the Strategic Defence Research Centre, told reporters.

Shamkhani said he did not expect a new United Nations Security Council resolution to be adopted against Iran anytime soon, adding that even if such a resolution was adopted its content would be no different than the one in Resolution 1737.

The former Defence Minister said that Tehran would continue on its nuclear path even if the United Nations Security Council adopted a new resolution censuring it and imposing further sanctions because of its refusal to suspend its uranium enrichment activities. “Iran will continue on its path, since the items in a second resolution will be no different from those in Resolution 1737”, he said.

The United Nations Security Council voted unanimously in December in favour of Resolution 1737, imposing mild sanctions against Tehran for its nuclear defiance. It gave Tehran two months to suspend uranium enrichment and return to the negotiating table.

The International Atomic Energy Agency announced last week that Tehran had failed to meet the deadline.