West to seek UN action on Iranian bomb threat

Britain and its allies will seek a tough new resolution at the United Nations next week after a report from the world’s nuclear watchdog said that Iran was accelerating its uranium enrichment programme. Britain, acting in concert with France, Germany and the United States, will ask the 15-nation Security Council to pass a mandatory resolution declaring Iran’s nuclear programme a threat to international peace and security and ordering it to suspend its enrichment work. But even as the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) delivered its report, President Ahmadinejad made clear that Iran would not back down. He told a rally that “we do not give a damn about such resolutions” and said that the Islamic republic could soon become a superpower. “Enemies think that by threatening us . . . they can dissuade our country from obstaining nuclear technology,” he said. “We will not back down.”