12 March 2007
Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has expressed a wish to personally present his country's case for nuclear power to the UN Security Council. A spokesman of the Iranian government said: "The president of the Islamic Republic of Iran intends to attend a UN Security Council meeting to be held on Iran's nuclear case in order to defend the rights of the Iranian nation in exploiting peaceful nuclear energy." South Africa's UN ambassador Dumisani Kumalo, whose country holds the rotating Security Council presidency, said Ahmadinejad had not made a formal request, but if he did, "it would be very difficult to deny him that opportunity." In December, the Security Council imposed limited sanctions against Iran for its refusal to freeze uranium enrichment, which can be used both to produce nuclear fuel and build an atomic bomb. The UN body is now considering tougher sanctions, including a travel ban, an arms embargo, trade restrictions and a wider freeze of Iranian assets.
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