Iran Says No!

Associated Press:

Iran said Saturday it will never agree to a permanent halt on enriching uranium and warned that a more unstable Middle East would result from a U.S.-backed effort to haul Tehran before the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

Any effort by Washington to bring Tehran's suspended uranium enrichment program under Security Council scrutiny is a dangerous path, warned Iran's top nuclear negotiator, Hasan Rowhani. read more

Speaking during a two-day international conference on nuclear technology, Rowhani said Iran will halt negotiations and resume uranium enrichment "without any hesitation" if European negotiators insist Iran make its temporary suspension of uranium enrichment permanent.

"Americans and Europeans will be the first to lose in that case," he told more than 50 nuclear scientists and experts attending the Tehran conference. "It will cause problems for regional energy and for the European economy.

"And it will cause additional problems for America. Therefore, no one will benefit from this. It's playing with fire." ...

Rowhani said Tehran will call off the talks entirely if it sees no signs of progress by the time a committee of Iranian and European negotiators meets March 17-18.

"If there is no tangible progress, we won't continue the talks," he said. ...

Rowhani suggested that if EU negotiators succumb to U.S. pressure for a harder line, the negotiations will fail. Europe's prowess as an intermediary in international crises will suffer, he said.

"If there is no U.S. pressure, we will reach a compromise with Europeans in the near future," Rowhani said. "Europeans are not seeking a permanent halt to our peaceful nuclear program and denying the Iranian nation of its rights." ...

Iran has been saying this all along, but it appears the media is finally willing to make it clear to the public.