In Beijing, Iran’s “nuclear negotiator” Ali Larijani reiterated that Iran’s nuclear program is strictly for peaceful power generation.

Then he said that if Iran feels threatened, it’s nukin’ time: Iranian official: If threatened, we will use nuclear weapons.

Iran’s chief nuclear envoy Ali Larijani said on Friday that Iran is committed to the peaceful use of nuclear technology but warned the situation could change if his country is threatened.

“We oppose obtaining nuclear weapons and we will peacefully use nuclear technology under the framework of the Nonproliferation Treaty, but if we are threatened, the situation may change,” he told a news conference after two days of talks in Beijing.

Iran’s nuclear chief said his country has produced and stored 250 tons of the gas used as the feedstock for uranium enrichment, state-run television reported Friday.

Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh, who is also the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran, said Iran has kept the uranium hexaflouride gas, or UF-6, in underground tunnels at a nuclear facility in Isfahan to protect it from any possible attack.

“Today, we have produced more than 250 tons of UF-6. Should you visit Isfahan, you will see we have constructed tunnels that are almost unique in the world,” State-run television quoted Aghazadeh as saying.

Oddly enough, this story is credited to the Associated Press yet appears only at Ynet. A search of the Yahoo News wires yields only innocuous reports like this one: Iran to ‘honor principles’ of nuclear control treaty: negotiator.

UPDATE at 1/5/07 10:42:07 am:

Larijani’s quote is reported in numerous versions of AP stories, but in most of them it’s buried and de-emphasized. Israeli media is understandably paying a bit more attention: Iran: Our stance on nuclear arms may change if threatened - Haaretz.