Nuclear dispute ‘closed’ to Iran

NEW YORK — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad yesterday denounced the U.N. Security Council as tarnished and undermined by U.S. and Western interference, and declared that “the nuclear issue is now closed” in his second major New York speech this week.

“I officially announce that in our opinion the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has been turned into an ordinary [regulatory] matter,” Mr. Ahmadinejad said, speaking on the opening day of the U.N. General Assembly debate, hours after President Bush criticized the country’s human rights record.

Instead, Mr. Ahmadinejad said, Iran has decided to pursue the monitoring of its nuclear program through the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog.

He indicated that Tehran will disregard U.N. Security Council resolutions imposed by “arrogant powers” and demanding suspension of its uranium enrichment.

Also addressing the General Assembly, French President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday rejected Iran’s presumed nuclear ambitions, warning that the world could not be at peace if it is trying to arm.

“There will be no peace in the world if the international community falters in the face of nuclear arms proliferation. Obviously, I am thinking here of the Iranian question,” he said. ” Iran is entitled to nuclear power for civilian purposes. But if we allow Iran to acquire nuclear weapons, we would incur an unacceptable risk to stability in the region and in the world.”

“I want to say here, in the name of France, that we can only resolve this crisis by combining firmness with dialogue,” he added.

Earlier, German Chancellor Angela Merkel threatened tougher sanctions against Iran if the country remains intractable on the dispute over its nuclear program.

Mr. Ahmadinejad spoke just hours after the fourth Iranian-American was released after months of confinement in Evin prison outside Tehran or under house arrest.

Ali Shakeri, 59, a California-based peace activist and businessman, was released after his family posted a bail of slightly more than $100,000. An academic, journalist and urban planner have also been released, although two are still forbidden to leave the country.

Meanwhile, Iranians expressed dismay yesterday at the tough reception given to their president in New York, saying his host was rude and only fueled the image of the United States as a bully.

The scenes at Monday’s question-and-answer session at Columbia University and the outpouring of venom toward Mr. Ahmadinejad by protesters during his U.S. visit could bolster the hard-line leader at a time of high tensions with Washington.

Columbia University President Lee Bollinger’s statement — including telling Mr. Ahmadinejad that he resembles a “petty and cruel dictator” — offended Iranians on many levels, not least that of simple hospitality. In traditions of the region, a host should be polite to a guest, no matter what he thinks of him.

The chancellors of seven Iranian universities issued a letter to Mr. Bollinger saying his “insult, in a scholarly atmosphere, to the president of a country with … a recorded history of 7,000 years of civilization and culture is deeply shameful.”

But the Iranian president appeared less concerned than his citizens.

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