The US said on Thursday Iran had attended North Korean missile tests this month, increasing US concern about ties between two countries Washington accuses of having secret nuclear weapons programs.
No comment on the US charge was immediately available from Iran, which earlier accused Washington of trying to obstruct talks to end a standoff over Tehran's nuclear program.
The accusations were traded as the UN Security Council wrangled over a resolution to make legally binding demands Iran halt uranium enrichment, a process that can produce fuel for power stations or bomb material. Iran again rejected international calls for it to scrap nuclear fuel production.
US Assistant Secretary of State Chris Hill said one or more Iranian representatives witnessed July 4 missile tests in North Korea, which experts say is a key partner in Iran's missile program.
Washington says the two have collaborated and has expressed concern cash-strapped Pyongyang could sell missiles and possibly atomic material. Experts say Iran's Shahab 3 missile has a 2,000km range and is based on a North Korean design.
Asked at a US Senate hearing about reports Iranians witnessed the North Korean tests, Hill said: "Yes, that is my understanding."
It was "absolutely correct" the relationship was worrisome, said Hill, also chief US negotiator with Pyongyang.
Meanwhile, in related news Iran announced it would reply to the Western incentives on its nuclear program on Aug. 22 -- the first time it has given a precise date after weeks of being accused of stalling.
Thursday's statement by Supreme National Security Council suggested Iran was likely to reject the main point of the West's proposals -- the imposition of a long-term moratorium on uranium enrichment.
The statement said Iran "has made plans to produce part of its nuclear fuel needs inside the country and is making efforts to meet its required fuel" -- a process that entails enriching uranium for use in nuclear reactors.
The council also warned that Iran would retaliate if the world tried to punish it over its nuclear program.
"In case the path of confrontation is chosen instead of the path of dialogue ... and Iran's definite rights are threatened, then there will be no option for Iran but to reconsider its nuclear policies," the council said.
The statement did not spell out what reconsideration would mean, but Iranian officials have repeatedly threatened to withdraw from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and stop cooperating with UN nuclear inspectors.
The five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany offered Iran a package of incentives on June 6 to persuade it to suspend enrichment -- a process that can produce material for atomic weapons as well as fuel for reactors. The incentives include advanced technology and the easing of US sanctions on the sale of aircraft and aircraft parts.
Last week the world powers decided to refer Iran to the UN Security Council, saying it had taken too long to reply and had given no sign of wanting to negotiate in earnest over its nuclear ambitions.
The Supreme National Security Council insisted that Iran wanted to avoid a showdown.
"Iran is not after tension, but if others push things toward tension and create problems, then all will face problems," it said in the statement. "Iran believes dialogue is the most logical solution. It is serious in this path."
OPTIMISTIC: A Philippine Air Force spokeswoman said the military believed the crew were safe and were hopeful that they and the jet would be recovered A Philippine Air Force FA-50 jet and its two-person crew are missing after flying in support of ground forces fighting communist rebels in the southern Mindanao region, a military official said yesterday. Philippine Air Force spokeswoman Colonel Consuelo Castillo said the jet was flying “over land” on the way to its target area when it went missing during a “tactical night operation in support of our ground troops.” While she declined to provide mission specifics, Philippine Army spokesman Colonel Louie Dema-ala confirmed that the missing FA-50 was part of a squadron sent “to provide air support” to troops fighting communist rebels in
PROBE: Last week, Romanian prosecutors launched a criminal investigation against presidential candidate Calin Georgescu accusing him of supporting fascist groups Tens of thousands of protesters gathered in Romania’s capital on Saturday in the latest anti-government demonstration by far-right groups after a top court canceled a presidential election in the EU country last year. Protesters converged in front of the government building in Bucharest, waving Romania’s tricolor flags and chanting slogans such as “down with the government” and “thieves.” Many expressed support for Calin Georgescu, who emerged as the frontrunner in December’s canceled election, and demanded they be resumed from the second round. George Simion, the leader of the far-right Alliance for the Unity of Romanians (AUR), which organized the protest,
ECONOMIC DISTORTION? The US commerce secretary’s remarks echoed Elon Musk’s arguments that spending by the government does not create value for the economy US Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick on Sunday said that government spending could be separated from GDP reports, in response to questions about whether the spending cuts pushed by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency could possibly cause an economic downturn. “You know that governments historically have messed with GDP,” Lutnick said on Fox News Channel’s Sunday Morning Futures. “They count government spending as part of GDP. So I’m going to separate those two and make it transparent.” Doing so could potentially complicate or distort a fundamental measure of the US economy’s health. Government spending is traditionally included in the GDP because
Two daughters of an Argentine mountaineer who died on an icy peak 40 years ago have retrieved his backpack from the spot — finding camera film inside that allowed them a glimpse of some of his final experiences. Guillermo Vieiro was 44 when he died in 1985 — as did his climbing partner — while descending Argentina’s Tupungato lava dome, one of the highest peaks in the Americas. Last year, his backpack was spotted on a slope by mountaineer Gabriela Cavallaro, who examined it and contacted Vieiro’s daughters Guadalupe, 40, and Azul, 44. Last month, the three set out with four other guides
RSS