Iran won't retreat 'one iota'
Source: Agencies |
November 10, 2011, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
IRAN won't retreat "one iota" from its nuclear program, but the world is being misled by claims that it seeks atomic weapons, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said yesterday in reaction to a UN watchdog report that Iran is on the brink of developing a nuclear warhead.
The comments, broadcast live on state TV, contrasted sharply with Western warnings that Iran seems to be engaged in a dangerous defiance of international demands to control the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions.
In Paris, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said France would support boosting sanctions against Tehran to an "unprecedented scale" if Iran stonewalls investigations, and Israel and others have said that military options are still possible.
"This nation won't retreat one iota from the path it is going," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in Shahr-e-Kord in central Iran.
Ahmadinejad also strongly chided the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, saying it is discrediting itself by siding with US accusations. "Why are you ruining the prestige of the (UN nuclear) agency for absurd US claims?" he said.
The 13-page annex to the IAEA's report released on Tuesday included claims that while some of Iran's activities have civilian as well as military applications, others are "specific to nuclear weapons."
Among these were indications that Iran has conducted high-explosives testing and detonator development to set off a nuclear charge, as well as computer modeling of a core of a nuclear warhead. The report also cited preparatory work for a nuclear weapons test, and development of a nuclear payload for Iran's Shahab 3 intermediate-range missile - a weapon that can reach Israel.
Ahmadinejad repeated Iran's claims that it doesn't make sense to build nuclear weapons in a world already awash with atomic arms.
"The Iranian nation is wise. It won't build two bombs against 20,000 (nuclear) bombs you have," he said in comments apparently directed at the West and others. "But it builds something you can't respond to: Ethics, decency, monotheism and justice."
The US and allies claim a nuclear-armed Iran could touch off a nuclear arms race among rival states, including Saudi Arabia, and directly threaten Israel. The West is seeking to use the report as leverage to put tougher sanctions on Iran.
Russia says it won't support new or tighter sanctions despite the IAEA report, said Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov.
The comments, broadcast live on state TV, contrasted sharply with Western warnings that Iran seems to be engaged in a dangerous defiance of international demands to control the Islamic Republic's nuclear ambitions.
In Paris, Foreign Minister Alain Juppe said France would support boosting sanctions against Tehran to an "unprecedented scale" if Iran stonewalls investigations, and Israel and others have said that military options are still possible.
"This nation won't retreat one iota from the path it is going," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people in Shahr-e-Kord in central Iran.
Ahmadinejad also strongly chided the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, saying it is discrediting itself by siding with US accusations. "Why are you ruining the prestige of the (UN nuclear) agency for absurd US claims?" he said.
The 13-page annex to the IAEA's report released on Tuesday included claims that while some of Iran's activities have civilian as well as military applications, others are "specific to nuclear weapons."
Among these were indications that Iran has conducted high-explosives testing and detonator development to set off a nuclear charge, as well as computer modeling of a core of a nuclear warhead. The report also cited preparatory work for a nuclear weapons test, and development of a nuclear payload for Iran's Shahab 3 intermediate-range missile - a weapon that can reach Israel.
Ahmadinejad repeated Iran's claims that it doesn't make sense to build nuclear weapons in a world already awash with atomic arms.
"The Iranian nation is wise. It won't build two bombs against 20,000 (nuclear) bombs you have," he said in comments apparently directed at the West and others. "But it builds something you can't respond to: Ethics, decency, monotheism and justice."
The US and allies claim a nuclear-armed Iran could touch off a nuclear arms race among rival states, including Saudi Arabia, and directly threaten Israel. The West is seeking to use the report as leverage to put tougher sanctions on Iran.
Russia says it won't support new or tighter sanctions despite the IAEA report, said Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
