Defiant Iran eyes retaliation for sanctions

A defiant Iran said on Wednesday that it will not back down despite newly announced Western sanctions over its atomic drive, as it took the first steps to hit back at the measures.“The Iranian nation will not back down an iota, and will not allow the slightest move to encroach on the nations rights” in terms of its nuclear programme, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech aired on state television.In Iran’s parliament, lawmakers -- some crying “Death to Britain” -- adopted an emergency bill calling for the expulsion of the British ambassador to Tehran. If it is passed in a vote scheduled for Sunday, and is subsequently approved by Iran’s Guardian Council, the law would see British-Iranian ties downgraded to charge d’affaires level. The bill also said parliament could take action on other countries that behave in a manner similar to that of Britain, according to the Fars and Mehr news agencies.Britain said it would be “regrettable” if Iranian lawmakers vote to expel the British ambassador. “It is too early to say what will happen next. But it would be regrettable if they were to take such action,” a spokesman for Britain’s Foreign and Commonwealth Office said.“We believe that it is important to maintain senior channels of communication and especially at times like these. It is only through dialogue that we can solve the problems we face.” The sanctions targeting Irans financial sector were unveiled Monday in coordinated announcements by the United States, Britain and Canada.France separately called for the West to freeze Iranian central bank assets and slap an embargo on Iranian oil. Britain, Canada and France have embassies in Tehran. The United States does not have a diplomatic mission, having closed its embassy after Islamic students took its diplomats hostage in 1979 following Irans revolution. US interests are handled by the Swiss embassy.Russia has called the new sanctions illegal. China on Wednesday warned they would “intensify confrontation” between the West and Iran.China and Russia used their weight on the UN Security Council to block any possibility of the sanctions being more broadly imposed through a UN resolution.Ahmadinejad, speaking to a crowd east of Tehran, took a patronising tone with the countries imposing the sanctions.Iran’s representative in OPEC, Mohammad Ali Khatibi, told ISNA news agency his country could adopt special stances in terms of using its vast oil exports as a political tool if “emergencies and special situations demand.”Pressure on Iran looked likely to be raised a notch on December 1, when EU foreign ministers were expected to announce additional sanctions on some 200 Iranian firms and individuals, according to diplomats.