Ahmadinejad says Iran, U.S. not headed for war: CBS

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Iran did not need nuclear weapons and his country was not heading for war with the United States, according to a television interview to be broadcast Sunday.

Asked whether Iran's goal was to obtain a nuclear bomb, he said the answer was a "firm no," according to a transcript of his interview with CBS' "60 Minutes" recorded on Thursday in Tehran.

"You have to appreciate we don't need a nuclear bomb. We don't need that. What need do we have for a bomb?" he said.

The United States accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of its civil nuclear program. Iran denies both allegations.

Asked whether Iran and the United States were heading toward conflict over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, he said: "It's wrong to think that Iran and the U.S. are walking toward war. Who says so? Why should we go to war? There is no war in the offing."

Officials of the five permanent U.N. Security Council members and Germany met on Friday for what they called "serious and constructive" talks about new U.N. Security Council sanctions aimed at trying to force Iran to halt its uranium enrichment activities.

Ahmadinejad, who was due to arrive in New York on Sunday for the U.N. General Assembly, reiterated Iran's position that its nuclear program is purely peaceful.

"Our plan and program is very transparent," he said. "In political relations right now, the nuclear bomb is of no use. If it was useful, it would have prevented the downfall of the Soviet Union. If it was useful, it would resolved the problem the Americans have in Iraq.

"The time of the bomb is passed.

'Iran put psychological pressure on UK captives'

LONDON, April 7 (IranMania) - Iran exerted "psychological pressure" on 15 British naval personnel it held for 13 days, a top British officer said as he defended the group's actions and an inquiry began into their capture, AFP reported.

As some of the 14 men and one woman prepared to make their first public comments since their emotional return to Britain Thursday, Admiral Sir Jonathon Band praised their bravery and dignity during their detention.

But he rejected suggestions that they should not have made "confessions" to their Iranian captors for allegedly breaching the Islamic republic's territorial waters, and only have given their name, rank and serial number.

"They weren't on combat operations. They weren't like people shot down in Tornados in the (first) Persian Gulf War," said Band, who as First Sea Lord is head of the Royal Navy.

"I don't think there is any doubt from the statements some of them made, and certainly the letters, that they were under a certain element of psychological pressure.

"I think you will find out that they were actually a brave set of youngsters."

On Thursday, Royal Marines officer Lieutenant Colonel Andy Price claimed some of the group may have been left in solitary confinement during their detention, despite the 15's appearance together on Iranian television.

Meanwhile, the eight Royal Navy sailors and seven Royal Marines spent their first night of freedom at the Royal Marine Base Chivenor in Devon, southwest England, after being reunited with their families and friends.

They are being debriefed and undergoing medical examinations. Some of the group are due to address a news conference at 1500 GMT. In a joint statement released Thursday, the group said their ordeal had been "very difficult".

A military inquiry was under way to determine how they came to be captured as they conducted what Britain said were routine anti-smuggling operations near the Shatt al-Arab waterway dividing Iraq and Iran.

Band said the probe would look at the rules of engagement, intelligence gathering, equipment and procedures to prevent any repeat.

Until a complete review of the situation is complete, the Royal Navy has suspended all boarding operations in the area, he added.

One of the 15, Royal Marine Captain Chris Air, told Sky News television in an interview recorded a week before their detention that British crews did gather intelligence on Iranian activities in the Persian Gulf area.

In his BBC interview, Band dismissed suggestions that the 15 had surrendered too easily and that they should have fought back against their captors.

"I think our people have reacted extremely well in some very difficult circumstances," he said, adding that the decision to board and search a merchant ship that led to their seizure was "absolutely proper".

"I think they acted with considerable dignity and a lot of courage," he added.

The group's return made headline news Friday, but coverage was tempered by the deaths of four soldiers, including two women, in a roadside bomb attack in southern Iraq on Thursday.

The deaths bring the British death toll in Iraq in the last week to six and 140 since the start of the US-led invasion in March 2003.

Prime Minister Tony Blair on Thursday repeated his assertion that "elements" in Iran were backing insurgent attacks in Iraq, although it was too early to say whether there were definite links for the latest attack.

British newspapers highlighted similarities between explosive charges used by insurgents in southern Iraq and Iranian weapons.

The Sun tabloid said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has "our blood on his hands", claiming the bomb attack that killed the four soldiers was "almost certainly engineered" by the Iranian president.

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Britain seeks to build diplomatic pressure on Iran in attempt to free captive personnel

Top Stories

Julian Borger and Ewen MacAskill in Washington and Ian Black in Riyadh
Friday March 30, 2007
The Guardian

Britain was attempting yesterday to isolate Iran over its week-old detention of 15 marines and sailors, but there were no immediate signs that the diplomatic offensive had brought their release any closer. British diplomats were hopeful that international solidarity would force Iran's rulers to rethink and focused on rallying the international community to Britain's cause.

In New York last night, the UN security council issued a statement of rebuke for Iran's seizure of the British naval patrol last Friday. The statement, which expressed "grave concern" at the capture of the sailors, called on Tehran to allow consular access to the captured Britons and for an early resolution of the dispute and their release.

The wording, produced after four hours of debate, was less forceful than Britain had wanted. Russia balked at calls for the immediate release of the navy personnel, and for language saying they had been seized in Iraqi waters. But diplomats said they were satisfied the statement sent a clear message to Tehran.

Britain hopes a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Bremen today will issue a sharper statement. It was encouraged by France's decision to summon Iran's ambassador to Paris to the foreign ministry to demand the Britons' swift release. The EU's foreign policy chief, Javier Solana, took a tough line yesterday, calling for an end to the "illegal" detention. "What Iran has to do is to liberate immediately all the soldiers," Mr Solana told reporters. "We want to have good relations with Iran, and this does not help."

In meetings at an Arab League summit in Riyadh, Arab diplomats and the UN's secretary general, Ban Ki-Moon, also added pressure on Iran to free the captives. British officials said they were pleased with the level of Arab support and said some Gulf states were concerned about a recent rise in Iranian naval incursions into their own territorial waters.

Mr Ban raised the fate of the detainees with Iran's foreign minister, Manouchehr Mottaki. A UN statement said he had expressed his wish "to see an early resolution of this problem".

Hoshyar Zebari, Iraq's foreign minister, also raised the issue of the captives in talks with Mr Mottaki. "We had a good meeting with the Iranian minister," Mr Zebari said. "I passed on a message asking for the release of the soldiers. They are working at our invitation - they are part of the MNF [multi-national force in Iraq]. Our information is that they were detained in Iraqi territorial waters. But really I felt a sense that they [Iran] want to resolve the issue." Saud al-Faisal, the Saudi foreign minister, said last night: "This is a very unfortunate incident. We are afraid it's going to add to the tension that exists in the Gulf ..."

"Some of us who have relations with Iran are in contact with Iran but I wish I had good news that they will be released. We don't need any added inflammatory incidents in the Gulf and we feel for the families of those soldiers." The unexpectedly quiet voice in yesterday's international chorus of disapproval was America's. The White House has deliberately played down the stand-off at Britain's request. The US and British governments discussed whether it would be helpful to cancel military exercises in the region but the conclusion was to go ahead.

US officials said there was no prospect of a swap of six Iranians arrested in Iraq for the 15 British personnel and Britain had not asked for this. But the Americans could raise their profile as the crisis continues. The expectation in Washington is that the stand-off, unlike a similar one two years ago, could be protracted.

Nicholas Burns, under-secretary of state, testifying before the Senate's foreign affairs committee, said he hoped Iran would reach the right decision. He told the committee that the US approach to Iran in recent months, a combination of diplomacy and economic squeeze, was helping to unnerve the Iranian government. He said the two US carrier battle groups on exercises in the Gulf were "not to provoke Iran but to reassure our friends in the region".

Joe Biden, the Democratic chairman of the committee, said an otherwise minor incident could quickly spiral into military confrontation. "If there is anything worse than a poorly planned intentional war, it is an unplanned, unintentional war."

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Iran Warns of Possible Trial

World News

Iran Warns of Possible Trial

The British Foreign Office is demanding consular access to 15 British soldiers captured by Iran, but Tehran is refusing and has indicated that the Britons could be put on trial. It has also reacted to harsher UN sanctions by announcing that it is limiting its cooperation with the world's nuclear authority.

Charged relations between Iran and the West got tenser this weekend, with the unfolding crisis surrounding the capture of British sailors leading to a sharp exchange of words and Iran reacting to tougher United Nations Security Council sanctions by announcing it will suspend some of its cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

British Foreign Minister Margaret Beckett demanded Sunday that Iran give British diplomats access to the 15 members of the Royal Navy who were detained last Friday by Iran. In a telephone call with her Iranian counterpart she made it very clear that the sailors had been in Iraqi waters, according to a British Foreign Office spokesman. The British government has yet to be given access to the group of 14 men and one woman.

There are signs that Tehran is considering putting the British military personnel on trial. General Ali Reza Afshar, Iran's top military official, said on Saturday that the seized Britons had been taken to Tehran for questioning and had confessed under interrogation to "aggression into the Islamic Republic of Iran's waters."

Legal proceedings

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, speaking at a press conference in New York on Sunday, said the captured Britons were involved in "the illegal entrance into Iranian territorial waters and this issue is being considered legally." He said: "The Iranian authorities had intercepted these sailors and marines in Iranian waters and detained them in Iranian waters."

The comments were seen as a direct rebuff to the British prime minister's demands earlier in the day that the military personnel be released. Tony Blair had insisted that the sailors were in Iraqi waters at the time of their arrest. He said the detention of the personnel was "unjustified and wrong." And added "It is simply not true that they went into Iranian territorial waters and I hope the Iranian government understands how fundamental an issue this is for us." He said he wanted the issue "resolved in as easy and diplomatic a way as possible."

Britain's ambassador to Iraq, Iran Geoffrey Adams, has met with government officials but could not gain access to the British military personnel. He was told by an Iranian foreign ministry official that they were "well and sound" and that "legal proceedings" were under way.

Iranian student groups have called for the Britons to be held until the United States releases five Revolutionary Guard members captured in Iraq in January. Al-Sharq al-Awsat, a Saudi-owned newspaper based in London, quoted an unidentified Iranian military source as saying that the aim of the capture had been to trade the Royal Marines for these Guards. "Orders were given to the marine units of the Guards to implement the first part of the plan which included besieging one of the British naval patrols in charge of combating smuggling and arrest the soldiers."

However, Iranian state television on Monday read a statement from Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mehzi Mostafavi denying that Tehran had any aim of a prisoner exchange.

Ali Pahlavan, editor of Iran News, a Tehran-based newspaper, told the BBC that the move could be a strategy "to challenge British and American supremacy in this part of the world, which is troubling because this could lead to confrontation and this could be the trigger and could lead to escalation."

UN sanctions

Other radical groups are demanding that the sailors only be released when the sanctions against Iran are lifted. According to the London Times, there is now some speculation among diplomats that the British sailors were ambushed by a naval unit of the Revolutionary Guards in order to put pressure on Britain ahead of the Security Council vote on imposing harsher sanctions.

Nevertheless, the sanctions were imposed after a vote on Saturday night and the Iranians reacted by announcing that they would reduce their cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The Iranian government will only reverse this decision when the UN sends the issue back to the IAEA, government spokesman Gholam Hossein Elham said on Sunday.

According to Elham, the cabinet had decided to suspend "codes 1-3 of the minor arrangements of the safeguards," with the IAEA. These codes commit the Iranian government to informing the UN nuclear watchdog of any new steps or decisions it takes with its nuclear program.

The scaling back of cooperation with the IAEA is retaliation for the new sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council on Saturday, which Elham called "illegal and bullying."

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized the sanctions as the result of "hostility of some powers against Iran." Speaking on state television, Ahmadinejad said that the enemies of Tehran had made another mistake and that the Iranian uranium enrichment program would not be halted "even for one second."

Foreign Minister Mottaki said the resolution would have consequences. He insisted that Tehran had tried to negotiate with the permanent members of the Security Council and Germany and added that the sanctions were "illegal, unwarranted, and unjustified" and that they undermined the credibility of the Security Council.

The Security Council voted unanimously in favor of a second resolution on Saturday night in the hope of persuading Iran to forgo its nuclear program. The West suspects that the civilian energy program is in fact a program to develop nuclear weapons. The sanctions include a ban on Iranian arms exports and freezes the assets of 28 people and organizations involved in Iran's nuclear and missile program, many of which are linked to the Revolutionary Guard.

The IAEA is due to deliver a report in 60 days on whether Iran has halted uranium enrichment. If it has failed to do so the mullah regime could face even tougher UN sanctions.