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U.S. pressures Iran over nukes
(CNN) -- The United States warned Iran Wednesday it would not tolerate it building nuclear weapons and demanded Tehran allow more detailed inspections of its nuclear activities. Calling on other world leaders to voice their disapproval, U.S. President George W. Bush said Iran would be "dangerous" if it developed a nuclear weapon. In Tehran, Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said his country was not trying to build nuclear weapons, The Associated Press reported. He reiterated that Iran was prepared to allow unfettered inspections by the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, but expected the international community to recognize Iran's right to acquire advanced peaceful nuclear technology. "We confidently declare that we are not after nuclear weapons," Khatami said, according to the AP. "Actually, we don't believe that atomic weapons can bring security to a nation against countries possessing this kind of weapons." In a statement Thursday, Mohamed ElBaradei, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency said, "Iran should continue to be fully transparent." The board of the IAEA issued a report that called on Iran "to grant the agency all access deemed necessary by the agency" to ease suspicions that Iran was trying to develop nuclear weapons. Earlier this week, the International Atomic Energy Agency issued a report saying Iran did not report all of its nuclear activities. Iran says its nuclear program is meant as a domestic power source. In his 2002 State of the Union address, Bush named Iran as part of an "axis of evil" along with Iraq and North Korea. Tehran streets quietMeanwhile in Tehran, a heavy police presence and an array of security forces at key intersections brought the Iranian capital under control after eight straight nights of anti-government protests. Crack commando police in black four-wheel-drive vehicles patrolled the streets Wednesday night, and volunteer Islamic militia set up checkpoints in many parts of the city, stopping and searching cars at random. The streets around the university dormitories and campuses in central Tehran were almost deserted. On Tuesday night, by contrast, thousands of residents drove around the area, forming heavy traffic jams and occasionally sounding their horns in unison in a campaign of civil disobedience. Tehran, along with many towns and cities across the country, has been the scene of anti-government protests in the past several days, with demonstrators calling for an end to clerical rule in Iran. The wave of unrest started a week ago Tuesday when a gathering of university students to protest government privatization plans turned violent after it was attacked by Islamic vigilante groups. The students soon poured onto the streets, demanding that Iran's hard-line supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, step down. The students, frustrated by the slow pace of Khatami's promised reforms, called on him to resign as well. Authorities confirmed serious clashes Tuesday night in the western city of Hamedan in which dozens of university students were seriously injured in battles with pro-government Islamic groups. 'Courageous souls'Commenting on the protests, Bush called the demonstrators "courageous souls who speak out for freedom." "They need to know America stands squarely by their side. And I would urge the Iranian administration to treat them with the utmost of respect," he said. In Paris and London, Iranians set themselves on fire Wednesday to protest a French government crackdown on Iranian dissidents opposed to religious rule in Tehran, police in both cities said. Two Iranian women and a man set themselves on fire in Paris. Police initially said the women died, but hospital sources later said all three were alive, with one person in critical condition. (Full story) CNN correspondents Kasra Naji and Dana Bash contributed to this story. Copyright 2003 CNN. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Associated Press contributed to this report.
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