Iran threatens IAEA to reconsider cooperation

As diplomats at the International Atomic Energy Agecy (IAEA) in Vienna mulled a tough European-drafted resolution that criticises Iran's failure to fully come clean, top regime officials here said they would not tolerate what they saw as a US-Israeli plot.

The new conservative speaker of parliament, Gholam Ali Hadad-Adel, warned the assembly may not ratify Iran's signature of the additional protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) allowing tougher UN inspections.

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"The three European countries are demanding parliament adopt the protocol, but I say to France, Germany and Britain not to tell the Iranian parliament what to do," he told deputies.

"The Iranian parliament does not take orders from foreigners, because these orders do not reflect the interests of the Iranian people. If we consider it to be in the interests of the Iranian people we will adopt it, if not we will not," he said.

He also warned the Europeans not to "fall into the trap of the Zionists", a reference to Iran's oft-mentioned enemies in Israel and the United States.

And according to press reports, President Mohammad Khatami has also told Britain, France and Germany in writing to ease the pressure, or risk pushing Iran to consider "other alternatives".

Khatami also reportedly accused the so-called Euro-3 of aligning themselves with Iran's arch-enemy, the United States.

According to the Tehran Times newspaper, Khatami wrote that "Iran will not forego its inalienable right to nuclear energy for peaceful purposes", and that "if such confrontational behaviour continues... Iran will contemplate other alternatives."