Iran said Thursday that a just-released UN atomic watchdog IAEA report has proved the country's nuclear program is "peaceful" and the pursuit of new sanctions against the Islamic Republic would be "wrong."

 

White House Press Secretary Dana Perino briefs reporters at the White House in Washignton, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2007. The White House vowed immediately that it would push for new sanctions against Iran despite the ElBaradei report showed partial cooperation between Tehran and IAEA in the past months.

 

Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili made the remarks at a press conference in Tehren in the Supreme National Security Council, in reaction to a long awaited report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Mohammad ElBaradei earlier in the day.

 

"The (ElBaradei) report is comprehensive and very clear, the basis of sending Iran's nuclear case to the (UN) Security Council has collapsed ...the powers who based their accusations on this should reconsider their words," Jalili told reporters, referring to the US claims that Tehran was seeking to develop weapons of mass destruction from its nuclear program.

 

The Islamic Republic has answered all questions of the IAEA and "made progress in cooperation with it," he added, stressing "Iran had kept its promise."

 

Meanwhile, he said the current push by the US for a third sanction resolution against Iran would be "wrong." If new UN sanctions are approved, "you should be asking what is the logic in this?"

 

The press conference was scheduled to be held on Thursday morning. However, it was postponed until the evening due to the 24-hour delay of the ElBaradei report which was supposed to be released on Wednesday.

 

In the report over Tehran's cooperation on the nuclear program issued in Vienna, the UN atomic watchdog said "Iran has made substantial progress in revealing the nature and extent of its disputed nuclear program," though "Tehran needs to be more pro-active in providing information."

 

The report also stressed Iran "had been keeping ignoring the UN demand of freezing its sensitive uranium enrichment work".

 

Jalili repeated Iran's insistence of its unshakable rights over the nuclear process, saying "we want our rights ... reference of Iran's case to UNSC has been proved futile ... it's useless for Iranian people to get their rights."

 

But the White House vowed immediately that it would push for new sanctions against Iran despite the ElBaradei report showed partial cooperation between Tehran and IAEA in the past months.

 

"We believe that selective cooperation is not good enough," said White House press secretary Dana Perino.

 

(Xinhua News Agency November 16, 2007)