Iran announced today that it would go ahead with its pursuit of nuclear activities that would give it the capability to construct its own nuclear weapons despite repeated calls from the United States, European Union and United Nations for restraint.

Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told an international conference to review the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treat that 'Iran is determined to pursue all legal areas of nuclear technology including (uranium) enrichment, exclusively for peaceful purposes.'

Kharrazi then added that it was wrong to limit 'access to peaceful nuclear technology to an exclusive club of technologically advanced states under the pretext of nonproliferation.'

He added that Iran would pursue 'all legal areas of nuclear technology, including enrichment, exclusively for peaceful purposes.'

The United States continues to seek ways to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. Stephen G. Rademaker, an assistant secretary of state told the same conference on Monday that any solution to the problem 'must include permanent cessation of Iran's enrichment and reprocessing efforts, as well as dismantlement of equipment facilities related to such activity.'

Rademaker said that Iran has secretly worked on obtaining nuclear weapons now for the past 20 years. 'For almost two decades Iran has conducted a clandestine nuclear weapons program, aided by the illicit network of A. Q. Khan,' Rademaker said, referring to the head of Pakistan's nuclear research facilities.

The crises over Iran's nuclear ambitions continues. It is clear that the United States is convinced that Tehran is not working with nuclear technology merely for peaceful purposes. What the Bush Administration would do to prevent Iran from getting nuclear weapons remains to be seen.