Iran referred to UN Security Council

US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld wasted no time to seize a moment of crisis as an opportunity to weigh in with a strident warning that military action is still an option against Iran because of its alleged nuclear ambitions. Rumsfeld upped the stakes, describing Iran in prepared remarks as the world's "leading state sponsor of terrorism." Iran was reported to the United Nations Security Council on Feb. 4 after failing to allay suspicions that it is seeking nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear program is designed only to produce energy and their foreign ministry has said it would still discuss a proposal that Iranian uranium could be enriched in Russia to ensure it was not turned into weapons-grade material. In Munich, Germany, at a security conference focused on the relationship between the United States and its European allies, Rumsfeld minced no words while imparting his govern-ment's vision of the future to European leaders. "All options–including the military one–are on the table," he said while announcing that Iran was square in the sites of the US "global war on terror." Describing a world under siege, Rumsfeld warned "a war has been declared on all of our nations" and said their "futures depend on determination and unity in the face of the terrorist threat." "We could choose to pretend, as some suggest, that the enemy is not at our doorstep. We could choose to believe, as some contend, that the threat is exaggerated. "But those who would follow such a course must ask: what if they are wrong? What if at this moment, the enemy is counting on being underestimated, counting on being dismissed, and counting on our preoccupation," Rumsfeld said in words infused with fear. "The struggle ahead promises to be a long war that will cause us all to recalibrate our strategies, perhaps further adjust our institutions, and certainly work closely together," he told the European leaders while urging them to invest in their respective militaries. He said Islamic militants are on the move and have to be checked. "They seek to take over governments from North Africa to Southeast Asia and to re-establish a caliphate they hope, one day, will include every continent," he said. "They have designed and distributed a map where national borders are erased and replaced by a global extremist Islamic empire." Republican leaders quickly chimed in with the provocative tone of Rumsfeld's message. Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), also at the conference, backed Rumsfeld's comments. "There's only one thing worse than military action, and that is a nuclear-armed Iran," he said. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist also said that the United States must be prepared to take military action against Iran. Asked whether Congress had the political will to use military force against Iran, Frist said: "The answer is yes, absolutely." Ehud Olmert, the acting Prime Minister of Israel, also threatened that Iran would pay "a very heavy price" for resuming full-scale uranium enrichment. But Abdolrahim Moussavi, head of Iran's joint chiefs of staff, warned that any military strike would be useless. "We are not seeking a military confrontation, but if that happens we will give the enemy a lesson that will be remembered throughout history," he said. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brushed off the threats against his country as political posturing. "Our enemies cannot do a damn thing. We do not need you at all. But you are in need of the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad told a crowd in Tehran the day after Rumsfeld's remarks. "Content yourself with as many resolutions as you like. You cannot prevent the will of the Iranian people." Iran has warned that any sanctions against their country would send oil prices beyond a level industrialized economies could bear. However, there was a glimpse of a compromise. Initially, its referral to the Security Council, Iran had declared dead a proposal by Moscow that Russia could enrich Iranian uranium for use in power stations, but while Ahmadinejad spoke, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Iranian officials would meet with Russian counterparts to discuss the idea. "The situation has changed. Still, we will attend talks with Russia on Feb. 16," he said. Two days after the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors overwhelmingly voted to report Iran to the Security Council, Iran ended all voluntary cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog. It means Iran will resume uranium enrichment and will no longer allow snap IAEA inspections of its nuclear facilities. However, Iran has repeatedly stressed that it will continue to honor its commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. "Adoption of the policy of resistance doesn't mean we are on non-speaking terms or non-cooperative," said Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki. "We had two options. One was the option of resistance and the other was surrender. We chose resistance." Earlier, Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said "the door for negotiations is still open" over Iran's nuclear program. "We don't fear the Security Council. It's not the end of the world," he added. "If the Russian proposal makes itself compatible with the new conditions, it can be negotiated." "We chose our way wisely. We have solutions for all situations that may develop. Referring Iran to the Security Council will definitely harm the other party more than Iran," Asefi said. Twenty-seven of 35 member nations on the IAEA board voted for Iran's referral, reflecting more than two years of intense lobbying by the United States and its allies to enlist broad backing for such a move. Cuba, Venezuela and Syria voted against, and five members abstained. After years of opposition, Russia and China backed the referral last week, bringing support from other nations who had been waiting for their lead. But in return, Moscow and Beijing demanded that the other remaining veto-wielding Security Council members agree to let the Iran issue rest until at least March, when the IAEA board meets again to review the agency's investigation of Iran's nuclear program. Iran's referral to the Security Council marks a significant new phase in the US-led campaign to confront Iraq's neighbor. President George W. Bush hinted at US intentions on Jan. 31 when he singled out Iran in his State of the Union address as "a nation now held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people." Mottaki said Bush had lied to US citizens about Iran in his speech. The foreign minister accused the US of manufacturing the crisis and said, "It would be better for President Bush to spend the second half of his presidency governing his country in a calmer manner." Ahmadinejad retorted, saying that Bush had become President only by "spending billions of dollars and resorting to [a] court verdict." "Those whose arms are stained up to the elbow with the blood of other nations are now accusing us of violating human rights and freedoms," Iran's president scoffed. "Our nation cannot step back because of the bullying policies of some countries."