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Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad promised on Monday that he would announce “very good news” about Tehran’s nuclear program within days, Reuters reported.
"I will give you, the Iranian nation, very good nuclear news in the coming days," President Ahmadinejad said in a speech carried live on state television.
"Our enemies know they are unable to even slightly hurt our nation and they cannot create the tiniest obstacle on its glorious and progressive way,"
"They cannot stop our nation," Ahmadinejad said. "They should know they cannot deprive our nation of its rights by political pressure."
Ahmadinejad’s comments echoed comments by other top Iranian officials suggesting the imminent announcement of progress in Iran's nuclear program.
Meanwhile, a top Iranian newspaper said the Iranian President might declare that Iran enriched uranium to a level used in power plants.
"It was said the good news is related to Iran's achievement of uranium enrichment at 3.5 percent and creating a laboratory platform that will register Iran in the club of nuclear fuel countries,” the daily Jomhuri-ye Eslami wrote, without revealing its sources or giving further details.
Uranium enriched to a low level can be used as fuel to generate electricity. Fuel for use in Iran’s only nuclear plant now under construction must be enriched to 3.5 percent. Uranium must be enriched to far higher levels for bomb-making.
Striking Iran would be “completely nuts” - Straw
A military strike on Iran would be “completely nuts”, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in an interview on BBC television.
Straw’s comments were in response to a report by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker magazine that the Bush Administration was readying plans for a possible air strike on Iran's nuclear sites.
The report, dismissed by Iran as part of a U.S. “psychological war”, stated that the U.S. administration was seriously considering using "bunker buster" tactical nuclear weapons against Iran’s underground facilities. It also said that President Bush consider Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a “new Hitler”, and sees regime change in Tehran as the ultimate goal.
Straw acknowledged public concern that Iran was going to turn into another Iraq, but said that Britain, the U.S.’s closest ally in Europe, wouldn’t accept a pre-emptive strike against the Islamic republic, adding that the U.S. is committed to a negotiated solution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.
"The idea of a nuclear strike on Iran is completely nuts," he said.
Straw also said that there was a “difference of emphasis” between the British and American governments on Iran.
"The American administration, Condoleezza Rice, President Bush use slightly different language . . . As far as they are concerned, (military action) is not on the agenda but they don't rule out any option in theory about their position, "
Although Straw reiterated allegations by the U.S. and EU that Iran was developing a civil nuclear program that could be used for atomic weapons, he said that there was “no smoking gun”, and stressed that military action couldn’t be justified at this point.
“We can't be certain about Iran's intentions and that is therefore not a basis on which anybody would gain authority for military action," he said.
Iran insists that it has a legitimate right to work on a peaceful nuclear program as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Referring to Straw's comments, Hersh told the BBC that there were questions about how much information the U.S. government was sharing with its European allies.
Meanwhile, the White House, which dismissed Hersh’s report, claimed that it was pursuing a diplomatic solution on the issue of Iran's nuclear developments.
"We are not going to discuss military planning," said a White House spokesman.
Last week, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a non-binding statement giving Iran 30 days to halt uranium enrichment activities.
A team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts is currently in Iran inspecting uranium enrichment and reprocessing plans. The agency is due to report on Iran’s compliance to the UN demands later this month.
Al JAzeera
"I will give you, the Iranian nation, very good nuclear news in the coming days," President Ahmadinejad said in a speech carried live on state television.
"Our enemies know they are unable to even slightly hurt our nation and they cannot create the tiniest obstacle on its glorious and progressive way,"
"They cannot stop our nation," Ahmadinejad said. "They should know they cannot deprive our nation of its rights by political pressure."
Ahmadinejad’s comments echoed comments by other top Iranian officials suggesting the imminent announcement of progress in Iran's nuclear program.
Meanwhile, a top Iranian newspaper said the Iranian President might declare that Iran enriched uranium to a level used in power plants.
"It was said the good news is related to Iran's achievement of uranium enrichment at 3.5 percent and creating a laboratory platform that will register Iran in the club of nuclear fuel countries,” the daily Jomhuri-ye Eslami wrote, without revealing its sources or giving further details.
Uranium enriched to a low level can be used as fuel to generate electricity. Fuel for use in Iran’s only nuclear plant now under construction must be enriched to 3.5 percent. Uranium must be enriched to far higher levels for bomb-making.
Striking Iran would be “completely nuts” - Straw
A military strike on Iran would be “completely nuts”, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said in an interview on BBC television.
Straw’s comments were in response to a report by investigative journalist Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker magazine that the Bush Administration was readying plans for a possible air strike on Iran's nuclear sites.
The report, dismissed by Iran as part of a U.S. “psychological war”, stated that the U.S. administration was seriously considering using "bunker buster" tactical nuclear weapons against Iran’s underground facilities. It also said that President Bush consider Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as a “new Hitler”, and sees regime change in Tehran as the ultimate goal.
Straw acknowledged public concern that Iran was going to turn into another Iraq, but said that Britain, the U.S.’s closest ally in Europe, wouldn’t accept a pre-emptive strike against the Islamic republic, adding that the U.S. is committed to a negotiated solution to the dispute over Iran's nuclear program.
"The idea of a nuclear strike on Iran is completely nuts," he said.
Straw also said that there was a “difference of emphasis” between the British and American governments on Iran.
"The American administration, Condoleezza Rice, President Bush use slightly different language . . . As far as they are concerned, (military action) is not on the agenda but they don't rule out any option in theory about their position, "
Although Straw reiterated allegations by the U.S. and EU that Iran was developing a civil nuclear program that could be used for atomic weapons, he said that there was “no smoking gun”, and stressed that military action couldn’t be justified at this point.
“We can't be certain about Iran's intentions and that is therefore not a basis on which anybody would gain authority for military action," he said.
Iran insists that it has a legitimate right to work on a peaceful nuclear program as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Referring to Straw's comments, Hersh told the BBC that there were questions about how much information the U.S. government was sharing with its European allies.
Meanwhile, the White House, which dismissed Hersh’s report, claimed that it was pursuing a diplomatic solution on the issue of Iran's nuclear developments.
"We are not going to discuss military planning," said a White House spokesman.
Last week, the United Nations Security Council unanimously approved a non-binding statement giving Iran 30 days to halt uranium enrichment activities.
A team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) experts is currently in Iran inspecting uranium enrichment and reprocessing plans. The agency is due to report on Iran’s compliance to the UN demands later this month.
Al JAzeera
