Calling the West's bluff

Now what? Iran called Western nations' bluff on its nuclear research program Saturday with a statement from President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on his official Web site. Ahmadinejad rejected demands by the West that it stop its research, which Iran says is intended for the development of peaceful nuclear energy but the West fears is a nuclear weapons program. Western nations had given Iran until Aug. 2 to accept its conditions or face further United Nations economic sanctions. Iran insists it has the right to develop and harness nuclear energy under international law. "In whichever negotiation we take part ... it is unequivocally with the view to the realization of Iran's nuclear right and the Iranian nation would not retreat one iota from its rights," Ahmadinejad said. Left unsaid, of course, is that Iran is the fourth-largest oil producer, according to the Reuters international news service, and wouldn't need electricity from nuclear plants for generations. Iran's statement was issued after Ahmadinejad concluded talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, which were scheduled after French President Nicolas Sarkozy asked Assad to intervene in the dispute. But Assad merely restated Ahmadinejad's position after the meeting. "We have told the European countries that ... every country, including Iran, has the right to engage in uranium enrichment and to possess nuclear power stations based on agreements," Assad said, according to Reuters. Iran has been subjected to three rounds of sanctions since 2006, Reuters said.