JIM LEHRER: Iran
stood fast today against giving up its nuclear program as a U.N. deadline
expired. That touched off a new war of words. It also set the stage for
possible U.N. sanctions.
We have a report narrated by Jonathan Miller of Independent
Television News.
JONATHAN MILLER, ITV News Correspondent: As the U.N.
deadline came and went, Iran's defiant president vowing again today that his
country would never yield to pressure or threats, reasserting what he said was
Iran's inalienable right to peaceful nuclear technology.
MAHMOUD AHMADINEJAD, President of Iran (through translator):
The roots of the problem are that the heads of America want to resolve issues
worldwide using force, arms and bombs.
JONATHAN MILLER: Today, the U.N.'s atomic energy agency
declared that not only has Iran
failed to suspend its uranium enrichment program, but that it actually resumed
enrichment here at its Natanz facility in the run-up to today's Security
Council deadline.
The confidential but leaked report said U.N. experts
couldn't be certain that Iran,
which concealed its nuclear program for nearly two decades, isn't bent on
building a bomb.
The U.N.'s options for tackling Iranian recalcitrance are
limited. Initial sanctions might specifically target Iran's nuclear power program,
followed by a freeze on Iranian assets abroad and travel bans on officials
linked to the nuclear program.
Continued Iranian refusal to comply might invite tougher
financial and travel sanctions, restrictions on commercial flights and World
Bank loans, and an arms embargo.
On the streets of Tehran
today, though, many shrugging off sanctions threats. "We've suffered U.S. sanctions
for 27 years already," this man says, "and look at the advances our
scientists have achieved. We're not afraid."
Today, another deadline passed, another deadline ignored. Getting
ever harder to define what passes as a deadline.
JIM LEHRER: The U.S. response came swiftly. In Salt Lake City, President
Bush addressed the American Legion Convention, and he issued a new warning.
GEORGE W. BUSH, President of the United
States: It is time for Iran to make a choice. We've made
our choice. We will continue to work closely with our allies to find a diplomatic
solution, but there must be consequences for Iran's
defiance, and we must not allow Iran
to develop a nuclear weapon.
JIM LEHRER: But at the U.N., prospects for sanctions
remained unclear. So far, Russia
and China
have resisted taking that step. And today, U.S. Ambassador John Bolton said
they don't have to support sanctions.
JOHN BOLTON, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations: Remember,
also, that when a permanent member abstains, it is acquiescing in a resolution
being adopted. So that as long as we have nine other votes, abstentions by
permanent members still allows to bring a resolution into force. So it's not
just a question of vote yes or veto.
JIM LEHRER: The Chinese ambassador had a different take. He
insisted it was still too early to talk about sanctions.
WANG GUANGYA, U.N. Ambassador,
China: Of
course, people are talking about deadlines, but I think deadlines doesn't mean
that the negotiations are -- talks are dead. So, therefore, I think that people
are still working. And I do hope that, even after the passing of the deadline,
that we should talk to each other to find a way out.
JIM LEHRER: The Security Council will hold off taking any
action until at least next week. First, the European Union's foreign policy
chief will meet with Iran's
top nuclear negotiator.
In his speech today, President Bush launched a new defense
of his strategy against terror. He compared it to fights against Nazis and
communists in the 20th century, and he again rejected calls to leave Iraq. He said
of the war's critics, "They're patriotic, but they could not be more
wrong." We'll have more on the political war over terror right after this
news summary.
In Iraq, car bombs and other attacks killed 47 people and
wounded more than 200 others today; that made at least 250 killed so far this
week. But for the month, the Iraqi Health Ministry reported violent deaths
actually dropped below 1,000. The figure had been 3,500 in July, the highest
since the war began in 2003.
Also today, the U.S. military announced another
American soldier was killed on Wednesday.
Tropical Storm Ernesto closed in on the Carolinas
late today, with near-hurricane strength. The storm was expected to make a
late-night landfall near the border between the two states. North Carolina
Governor Mike Easley said the good news is it won't be high tide.
GOV. MIKE EASLEY (D), North
Carolina: Low tide is 7:00 p.m. High tide is 1:00
a.m. So if the storm is coming in between 8:00 and 10:00, then that means the
storm surge will be enough to cause beach erosion, but not enough to cause a
lot of structural damage that we've seen with past storms.
JIM LEHRER: In the Pacific, Hurricane John lashed Mexican
beach resorts again, north of Acapulco.
Mexican officials in Baja California
ordered 15,000 people to evacuate.
The U.S.
state of California
neared approval today of a landmark law curbing greenhouse-gas emissions. Democratic
leaders and Republican Governor Schwarzenegger agreed on the measure yesterday.
It would cut emissions 25 percent by 2020.
The State Senate passed the bill last night and sent it to
the State Assembly. We'll have more on this story later in the program.
There was word today the largest U.S. oil field could return to
normal output sooner than expected. The flow of oil at Prudhoe Bay, Alaska,
was cut in half in early August when B.P. found its pipelines were corroded. Now,
the company says some of the lines are at least temporarily usable and others
can be bypassed.
An appeal for help to rebuild Lebanon raised nearly $1
billion today. Donor nations met in Stockholm, Sweden. Lebanon's prime minister
told them the war between Israel and Hezbollah wiped out 15 years of
development. He also insisted Hezbollah will not get control of the rebuilding
money, despite its heavy presence in south Lebanon.
FOUAD SINIORA, Prime Minister of Lebanon: Ultimately, it
will be received by the needy people through the government agencies. So
including this, let's say, idea that it will really be siphoned in one way or
another to Hezbollah is entirely, completely a fallacy. And it's not true.
JIM LEHRER: In another development, the Israeli army
transferred control of a small part of the Lebanese border to Lebanese and U.N.
troops. That was the first time that's happened since the early 1980s.
The U.N. Security Council adopted a resolution today to take
over peacekeeping in Darfur, if Sudan agrees. It passed easily, but China and
Russia abstained. They said they first want Sudan's consent to allow a U.N.
force.
Later, the Sudanese government rejected the resolution. The
existing peacekeeping force is under the African Union's control, but it's
failed to stop the violence. More than 200,000 people have been killed in
Darfur since 2003.
Police in Norway announced today they recovered two
masterpieces by painter Edvard Munch. The works, "The Scream" and
"Madonna," were stolen two years ago from an Oslo museum by masked
gunmen.
In U.S. economic news, the Commerce Department reported
today consumer spending rose 0.8 percent in July; that was the largest increase
in six months. And on Wall Street today, the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost
more than a point to close at 11,381. The Nasdaq fell nearly two points to
close below 2,184.
Veteran actor Glenn Ford died Wednesday at his home in
Beverly Hills, California. He starred in more than 80 films from 1939 to 1991,
often as a tough, but low-key leading man. One of his best roles came in
"Gilda" in 1946, as a small-time gambler, opposite Rita Hayworth. It
became a film noir classic.
Glenn Ford was 90 years old. And we'll have more on his work
at the end of tonight's program.
