Iran Ready to Transfer Nuclear Know-How

TEHRAN, Iran – AP- Iran's supreme leader said Tuesday that the country is ready to transfer its nuclear technology to other countries. Meanwhile, Tehran threatened to halt all cooperation with the U.N. atomic energy agency if the U.N. Security Council imposes sanctions, warning that it might hide its nuclear program if the West takes any other "harsh measures."

Iran's warning to the U.N. watchdog agency, the International Atomic Energy Agency, came from Tehran's top nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani. They were the strongest words of defiance yet ahead of a Friday deadline, set by the Security Council, for Iran to suspend enrichment of uranium, a process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors or material for warheads.

"Military action against Iran will not end our program," Larijani said at a conference on the energy program. "If you take harsh measures, we will hide this program. If you use the language of force, you should not expect us to act transparently."

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice immediately shot back, saying Iran's statements were further isolating it from the international community.

"Iranians can threaten, but they are deepening their own isolation," she said in Athens.

The United States has not threatened military action and has said it is pursuing diplomatic option. But President Bush has said all options, including military force, remain on the table.

Larijani's comments came a day after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad boldly predicted the Security Council would not impose sanctions and warned he was thinking about dropping out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

On Tuesday, Larijani said flatly that Iran would not abide by Friday's deadline.

"If you take the first step wrong, the wrong trend will continue. We welcome any logical proposal to resolve the issue. They just need to say why should we suspend," Larijani said.

IAEA spokesman Marc Vidricaire said Tuesday it would not comment on the statements from Iran. He said no public statements were planned ahead of director Mohamed ElBaradei's report to the Security Council and the agency's board, expected by week's end.

The remarks on sharing nuclear technology by Iran's top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, came as he met with Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir.

"Iran's nuclear capability is one example of various scientific capabilities in the country. ... The Islamic Republic of Iran is prepared to transfer the experience, knowledge and technology of its scientists," Khamenei told al-Bashir.

Al-Bashir said last month that his impoverished, wartorn country was considering trying to create a nuclear program to generate electrical power.

Such a transfer of technology would be legal as long as it is between signatory-states to the nonproliferation treaty, and as long as the IAEA was informed.

The United States and European allies are expected to press for binding measures against Iran when the Security Council begins the next round of review of the Iranian case as soon as next week.

Although Rice has recently raised the likelihood of pressing for sanctions, she did not go that far Tuesday when taking questions after a meeting with her Greek counterpart, saying only that the Security Council must now issue something more concrete than last month's "presidential statement," which gave Iran 30 days to comply.

China and Russia, which are permanent, veto-wielding members of the council, oppose sanctions and both called Tuesday for more negotiations.

"We see no alternative to the negotiations process," Russian Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov was quoted as saying by the Interfax news agency while in Beijing for a regional anti-terrorism meeting.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang urged all parties "to show flexibility," saying the international community should not abandon efforts for a peaceful settlement.

Tuesday's comments were not the first time Iran has threatened to curb cooperation. Several months ago, Tehran announced it would not honor the IAEA's so-called "additional protocol," which gave the agency increased and more thorough inspection powers.

But Larijani said this time that Iran would suspend its cooperation altogether if sanctions were imposed.

"How are you going to prevent our nuclear activities by imposing sanctions? If U.N. Security Council sanctions are to be imposed on Iran, we will definitely suspend our cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency," Larijani said. He added that Western countries on the IAEA board "have to understand they cannot resolve this issue through force."

He also hinted that sanctions or even what he called coercive language from the Security Council would cause Iran to speed up its nuclear activities.

"You can't set a framework through coercion. If you try to do it by force, our response will be to break such a framework," he said.

The United States, Britain and France maintain that Iran is seeking to make nuclear weapons. Iran denies the charge and says its nuclear program is for peaceful electricity generation only.

Ahmadinejad appears to be banking on support from China and Russia to dissuade Washington from pressing a sanctions vote.

Suspicions about Iran's intentions have grown since it was discovered in 2002 that the country had for two decades secretly operated large-scale nuclear activities that could be used in weapons making.

The IAEA says it has since found no direct evidence of an arms program, but it also says the Iranians have not been fully forthcoming.

After repeated attempts at negotiations, the IAEA reported Iran to the Security Council for noncompliance. The council then gave Iran until Friday to suspend enrichment.

Iran deepened international concerns by announcing April 11 that it had for the first time enriched uranium with 164 centrifuges. Larijani said Tuesday the next step was large-scale enrichment.

Despite that, he said Iran might accept a timetable to move toward large-scale enrichment, if such a schedule were developed through negotiations and without threats.