Bush: Iran must face consequences

Iran defiantly rejected pressure to compromise over its nuclear program as a UN deadline arrived Thursday, opening the way to the threat of sanctions against Tehran. In a rousing speech, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted that Iran would not be bullied into giving up its right to nuclear technology, defying a late Thursday deadline set by the UN Security Council to suspend uranium enrichment. Senior Israeli officials responded by saying that the onus of responsibility now rested with the international community. "Iran has thrown down the gauntlet, and it's now time for the international community pick it up, implement the UN Security Council resolution, and expedite the process of sanctions," one senior official said. Israeli officials have said recently that Israel was carefully watching to see how the world would react to Iran's continued disregard of the world's call to suspend its nuclear development, with some high-level officials arguing that it is becoming clear that in the face of the world's tentative response, Israel may eventually have to "go it alone" to stop Iran.