Iran ignores deadline

A defiant Iran faces possible UN Security Council sanctions after the world body's atomic watchdog said Tehran refused to stop work on its nuclear programme by yesterday's deadline.

Western countries, including the United States, and the European Union fear Tehran could be using the programme to try to make atom bombs, while Iran says its intentions are peaceful.

A confidential report of the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Iran had resumed enriching small amounts of uranium in recent days and that a lack of Iranian cooperation had blocked its probes.

"Iran has not suspended its enrichment related activities," said the report leaked to Reuters. "Iran has not addressed the long outstanding verification issues or provided the necessary transparency to remove uncertainties associated with some of its activities."

Although European foreign policy chief Javier Solana had what he called "a good conversation" with Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani and was trying to arrange a meeting soon, US President George W. Bush said Iran must pay the price.

"It is time for Iran to make a choice," Mr Bush told a convention of US veterans. "We've made our choice. We will continue to work closely with our allies to find a diplomatic solution, but there must be consequences for Iran's defiance and we must not allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon."

Washington said the council could meet to discuss sanctions against Iran as early as next week, while French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said he deplored Iran's unsatisfactory response.

Iran was defiant after missing the Security Council deadline and shrugged off the threat of sanctions, saying it was not fully satisfied with the report but adding it showed US accusations about its plans were wrong.

"Generally, although this report has not fully satisfied us, it shows that America's propaganda and politically motivated claims over Iran's nuclear programme are baseless and based on American officials' hallucinations," deputy head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organisation, Mohammad Saeedi, told the official news agency IRNA.

"The Iranian nation will never abandon its obvious right to peaceful nuclear technology," Iranian state radio quoted President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying before the deadline.

The UN Security Council had asked Mohamed ElBaradei, head of the IAEA, to spell out yesterday whether Iran had complied with the deadline set in a July 31 resolution.