Iran’s new president today nominated a Cabinet that featured hard-liners in key ministries and is likely to lead to more confrontation in the country’s dispute with the West over its nuclear program.
Not one of the 21 ministers that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad nominated is known to be pro-democratic reform in Iran. The nominees are widely seen as followers of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, a noted conservative who has the final say on all state matters.
The parliament has to approve the Cabinet but, as the assembly is dominated by conservatives, it is expected to make few, if any, changes.
Oh, yeah. As the "last option", eh?Iran notched up the rhetorical battle with the United States on Sunday, declaring its options, if attacked by Washington, far exceeded those of the Americans.
In an interview with Israeli Channel 1 TV on Friday, U.S. President George W. Bush said all options are on the table" if Iran refused to comply with international demands to halt its nuclear program.
"I think Bush should know that our options are more numerous than the U.S. options," said Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi. "If the United States makes such a big mistake, then Iran will definitely have more choices to defend itself."[...]
In the interview, Bush said the United States and Israel "are united in our objective to make sure that Iran does not have a weapon."
But, he said, if diplomacy fails "all options are on the table. The use of force is the last option for any President. You know, we've used force in the recent past to secure our country."
A top Iranian nuclear official on Sunday called for negotiations with Europe on its uranium enrichment plans but said Iran will never again suspend its conversion of uranium ore into gas.
Last week Iran rejected a U.N. nuclear agency resolution that urged it to stop converting uranium at its facility in Isfahan, central Iran. Conversion is a step before enrichment, for which Iran has built facilities in Natanz.
"The Isfahan issue is over. What is left on the table for discussion is Natanz,'' the deputy head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, Mohammad Saeedi, told state television.
"We definitely have plans for Natanz in the near future,'' Saeedi said. He did not give any timeframe.
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