Iran Nuclear Crisis Hitting Point of No Return

The crisis over Iran's nuclear program seemed Friday, January 13, heading fast toward the point of no return, with the Islamic Republic threatening to stop cooperation with the UN atomic watchdog if its nuclear file is referred to the UN Security Council. "If the dossier is sent to the Security Council, the European countries will lose the means which are currently at their disposal, because... the government will be obliged, in conformity with the law adopted by parliament, to end all its voluntary measures of cooperation," Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency. Last December, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signed off on legislation obliging the government to "stop voluntary and non-legally binding measures and implement its scientific, research and executive programs" if the Security Council gets involved, Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported. The Iranian President has also ordered Iran's Atomic Energy Agency to be prepared to apply the law, according to the Fars news agency. The law does not refer to specific forms of retaliation, but measures could include resumption of uranium enrichment as well as refusing to adhere to the additional protocol of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which gives increased inspection powers to the IAEA. The additional protocol was signed by the previous reformist government but was never ratified by the conservative-run parliament.

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