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Ahmadinejad sticks to nuclear defiance after talks
Tehran (AFP) Oct 24, 2007 President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad Wednesday brushed off threats of military action and sanctions over the Iranian nuclear drive, a day after his new negotiator held his first talks with the European Union. Ahmadinejad maintained his confidence that the United States would not dare to launch an attack against Iran, saying that any such warnings were no more than darts being thrown at a wall. "The enemy is angry at us. They draw Iran's map on the wall and throw darts at it and then they say they want to attack Iran," the president told reporters after a cabinet meeting. He also shrugged off threats by the United States and its Western allies that Iran faces a third set of UN sanctions, describing past resolutions against Tehran as just "a handful of paper." "What remains in the UN Security Council under the nuclear dossier is a handful of paper which has absolutely no value," he said in the garden of the presidential palace. "These pieces of paper could be added to any day, since it has no affect on the Iranian people's will." Ahmadinejad and supreme leader Ali Khamenei have repeatedly said Tehran will not concede to the main demand of the world powers over its nuclear programme, namely that it suspend sensitive uranium enrichment operations. Western powers fear that Iran could use enrichment to make nuclear weapons, but Tehran insists that its nuclear programme is solely aimed at generating electricity. The president said Iran was ready to hear any proposal, but added: "The Iranian people will not give up their nuclear right." His colourfully defiant comments come a day after new nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili held his first talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana in Rome to try to break the deadlock. Both sides hailed the meeting as "constructive," but there was no sign that they were any closer to making a breakthough. Jalili took over after the sudden resignation at the weekend of Ali Larijani, who according to Iranian officials fell out with Ahmadinejad over the handling of nuclear policy. Some Western observers fear that Jalili, an ally of Ahmadinejad, could take an even tougher line than his predecessor who is a conservative but relatively pragmatic. But to the surprise of many, Larijani was present at the Rome talks and there was no sign that the meeting would be his last. Ahmadinejad sought to play down his differences with Larijani, saying the two remained friends even though the negotiator had sent three resignation letters already and had also asked verbally to step down many times. He emphasised there would be no changes to the policies followed since he came to power in 2005. "I have announced the policies. The policies are what we implemented over the past two years and from now on the policies will remain the same," he said. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links Learn about nuclear weapons doctrine and defense at SpaceWar.com Learn about missile defense at SpaceWar.com All about missiles at SpaceWar.com Learn about the Superpowers of the 21st Century at SpaceWar.com
NKorea to beat nuclear disablement deadline: official
Seoul (AFP) Oct 24, 2007North Korea is likely to disable its plutonium-producing nuclear reactor well before the year-end deadline set under a multinational deal, a senior South Korean official said Wednesday. |
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