Iran 'ready for war'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that there is no stopping his country's nuclear programme, comparing it to a train with no brakes, as as the United Nations Security council meets this week to discuss further sanctions.
One of his deputy foreign ministers is also reported as warning that the country is ready for any scenario it its nuclear row with the West, “even for war” as the country announced it had launched a rocket into space.
Mr Ahmadinejad said: “Iran has obtained the technology to produce nuclear fuel and Iran’s move is like a train ... which has no brake and no reverse gear,” according to Iran’s student news agency ISNA.
He also claimed that the country’s enemies had hatched a range of plots to push the Islamic Republic to give up its disputed nuclear programme, including driving up the price of tomatoes and other food, but that such tactics would not work, Iran’s ISNA news agency quoted him as saying.
Rising prices, particularly the cost of tomatoes which form an important ingredient in Iranian food, have prompted growing public criticism of Mr Ahmadinejad’s government. The president has often dismissed complaints as media exaggeration. “In order to harm us, they (enemies) make plots, for instance they come and push tomato prices up in the market.
"They think we will give up our ideals with their plots,” he said
He added: “Of course, God willing, the problem of meat, chicken and tomatoes will be solved. One should be aware that our revolution is like a bulldozer ... the enemies think by throwing a few small stones and sand they can stop this bulldozer.”
Condoleeza Rice, the U.S. Secretary of State, responded to Iran’s declaration that it had no “reverse gear” on its nuclear program by saying on Sunday that what Iran needed to do was halt weapons-related activities.
Ms Rice said if Tehran did so, the United States was prepared to discussed trade and political issues, and she would be willing to meet her Iranian counterpart. “They don’t need a reverse gear. They need a stop button,”, she told 'Fox News Sunday'.
Manouchehr Mohammadi, an Iranian deputy foreign minister, echoed the tough talk, saying the Islamic Republic, which is accused by the West of trying to build nuclear weapons, was ready for any possible scenario.
“We have prepared ourselves for any situation, even for war,” Mr Mohammadi was quoted as saying at a conference in the central city of Isfahan.
“If they issue a second resolution, Iran will not respond and will continue its nuclear activities,” he said.
The UN introduced sanctions on Iran in December over its nuclear work, which the West fears is aimed at building atomic weapons.
The UN Security Council’s five permanent members and Germany are meeting this week to begin drafting a new sanctions resolution after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran had failed to meet a deadline in February to suspend uranium enrichment.
Enriched uranium can be used to fuel power plants, but it can also be used to build atomic bombs. Iran says its program is designed purely to produce civilian energy and insists it cannot accept UN demands that it halt uranium enrichment, because they are contrary to its rights under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, of which it is a signatory.
“The Iranian people are vigilant and will defend all their rights to the end,” Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a speech carried by the ISNA news agency.
The announcement of the rocket launch, made on state-run television, appeared to refer to Iran’s efforts to launch commercial satellites into orbit.
Iran’s Science and Technology and Defense ministries built the craft, the state-run television quoted Mohsen Bahrami, the head of Iran’s Space Research Center, as saying.
Mr Bahrami provided no other details beyond saying that Iran had successfully launched what he called a space rocket or space missile.
Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, the defence minister was quoted by a newspaper as saying: “Building a satellite and satellite launcher, as well as (previously) launching the first Iranian satellite called Sina with Russian cooperation, and becoming a member of the space club, are part of the Defence Ministry’s plans.”
Iran in the past has announced that it wanted to be able to send its own satellites, including commercial ones, into orbit. But it has revealed little information about the project.
In 2005, Iran launched its first such satellite in a joint project with Russia.
Iran hopes to launch four more satellites by 2010, the government has said, to increase the number of land and mobile telephone lines to 80 million from 22 million.
It also hopes to expand its satellite capabilities to let Internet users to rise to 35 million from 5.5 million in the next five years.
Science and Technology Minister Mohammad Soleimani said today that Iran would speed up its space program, the official IRNA news agency reported.
“Investment in space is very serious and requires time, but we are trying to speed this up,” IRNA quoted Soleimani as saying.
source:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/article1435615.ece
No problem, My Brother!
