Hardline Iranian leader nominates new cabinet filled with conservatives

TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's new president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, on Sunday nominated a cabinet dominated by conservatives as officials warned that Iran would not give in to pressure from the West over its nuclear program.

Ahmadinejad's selections for his 21-member Cabinet provide the first window into the policies that he may pursue in the next four years.

He had promised to establish a moderate government that would focus on the fair distribution of wealth and the eradication of corruption and poverty. But his candidates are largely from conservative backgrounds, and many of them are close to Iran's supreme religious leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

The proposed interior, cultural and intelligence ministers are well-known conservatives. Their nominations suggest that Ahmadinejad intends to restrict some of the social, cultural and political freedoms that were granted under the former president, Mohammad Khatami.

Some of the others are not well known, but according to background information carried by the ISNA news agency, a number have been members of the conservative Revolutionary Guards.

Parliament must approve the cabinet, in a vote expected to be held in the coming days. But there is little doubt that the new president's choices will be approved.

Iran warned the West on Sunday that it would not negotiate over its uranium conversion plant in Isfahan.

"The Isfahan issue is over," said Mohammad Saidi, deputy chief of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization, Iran's state television reported on Sunday.

"What is left on the table for discussion is Natanz," he added, referring to the nuclear site where Iran can conduct the more delicate process of uranium enrichment. The process can lead to making nuclear fuel, or if enriched to higher levels, to making nuclear weapons. "We definitely have plans for Natanz in the near future," he said.

Nearly 300 Islamist students staged a demonstration outside the British Embassy in downtown Tehran on Sunday. Protesters who bombarded the embassy with stones and tomatoes chanted, "Iran must resume enrichment." Britain, France and Germany, representing Europe, have been negotiating with Iran over the program.