Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad expressed Monday his country's support for calls for making the Middle East a nuclear arms-free zone. But the Iranian leader also said that the United States and Russia should as well give up their atomic weapons as they pose a real threat to the region's stability.
The Iranian President tackled the nuclear arms issue during a brief stop in Kuwait, the first Iranian visit to the Arab state since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.
Following talks with the new emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, Nejad spoke to reporters who asked about calls from the United States, Kuwait and other Arab states for the Middle East to be kept free of nuclear arms.
The Iranian leader expressed his country’s support for those calls, yet, he stressed that his government wishes to see the whole world free of nuclear weapons.
"We believe that these weapons, possessed by the superpowers and the occupiers in our area, are a threat to stability," Ahmadinejad said.
Also Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Taro Aso in Tokyo, stressed the Islamic Republic’s right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to pursue peaceful nuclear technology.
"What we are doing is research at the laboratory level and it is impossible for us to stop it and that's Iran's right," said.
In Washington, the White House raised concerns over the Russian-Iranian deal, and whether it will end worries of the United States and its European allies regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
"We'll have to see what the details of any agreement are," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "Given their history, you can understand why we remain skeptical."
Meanwhile, Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, claimed that Iran was just buying time to try to divide the international community.
Speaking to reporters after he was briefed on the Russian-Iran negotiations, Steinmeier said that "Iran does not really have a new strategy". "They still want to drive a wedge into the international community, but this will not succeed."
In Vienna, Diplomats said that the International Atomic Energy Agency, which voted early this month to report Iran to the UN Security Council, might receive a report Monday on Iran's uranium enrichment efforts and other nuclear work. The report is expected to play a significant role in determining the international community's next move in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program.
However the Council is waiting for the conclusion the board meeting will reach before considering any action, which could be imposing sanctions on Tehran.
Also Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz expressed the Jewish state dissatisfaction with Iran's negotiations with Russia, claiming that Tehran was just buying time to develop nuclear arms.
Speaking to a group of high school students, Mofaz said: "As for the possibility of an Israeli attack (on Iran), I think it is not at all right to address this question publicly, but it can be said that Israel has the right and the obligation to do all that is necessary to defend itself."
In 1981, the Israeli air forces bombed Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor using conventional munitions.
The Iranian President tackled the nuclear arms issue during a brief stop in Kuwait, the first Iranian visit to the Arab state since Iran's 1979 Islamic revolution.
Following talks with the new emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah, Nejad spoke to reporters who asked about calls from the United States, Kuwait and other Arab states for the Middle East to be kept free of nuclear arms.
The Iranian leader expressed his country’s support for those calls, yet, he stressed that his government wishes to see the whole world free of nuclear weapons.
"We believe that these weapons, possessed by the superpowers and the occupiers in our area, are a threat to stability," Ahmadinejad said.
Also Monday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki, meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Taro Aso in Tokyo, stressed the Islamic Republic’s right under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to pursue peaceful nuclear technology.
"What we are doing is research at the laboratory level and it is impossible for us to stop it and that's Iran's right," said.
In Washington, the White House raised concerns over the Russian-Iranian deal, and whether it will end worries of the United States and its European allies regarding Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
"We'll have to see what the details of any agreement are," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said. "Given their history, you can understand why we remain skeptical."
Meanwhile, Germany's foreign minister, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, claimed that Iran was just buying time to try to divide the international community.
Speaking to reporters after he was briefed on the Russian-Iran negotiations, Steinmeier said that "Iran does not really have a new strategy". "They still want to drive a wedge into the international community, but this will not succeed."
In Vienna, Diplomats said that the International Atomic Energy Agency, which voted early this month to report Iran to the UN Security Council, might receive a report Monday on Iran's uranium enrichment efforts and other nuclear work. The report is expected to play a significant role in determining the international community's next move in dealing with Iran’s nuclear program.
However the Council is waiting for the conclusion the board meeting will reach before considering any action, which could be imposing sanctions on Tehran.
Also Monday, Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz expressed the Jewish state dissatisfaction with Iran's negotiations with Russia, claiming that Tehran was just buying time to develop nuclear arms.
Speaking to a group of high school students, Mofaz said: "As for the possibility of an Israeli attack (on Iran), I think it is not at all right to address this question publicly, but it can be said that Israel has the right and the obligation to do all that is necessary to defend itself."
In 1981, the Israeli air forces bombed Iraq's Osiraq nuclear reactor using conventional munitions.