President of Iran Boasts of Nuclear Success

President Mahmud Ahmadinejad told a crowd in southern Iran on February 20 that Iran has brought the great powers to their knees with its determination to pursue its nuclear program, Radio Farda reported, citing Iranian agency reports.

Speaking in Bandar Abbas, Ahmadinejad said Iranians have ignored Western powers’ demands that Tehran curb its nuclear program, and that those governments have therefore lost their credibility.

“You have no credibility in the world,” Ahmadinejad said, addressing his Western critics. “Assuming you want to enhance your reputation with this issue, do you have anything better than the [International Atomic Energy Agency] report?”

He was referring to a report from the UN nuclear watchdog, due to be released later this month, on Iran’s nuclear activities and its level of cooperation with the IAEA in recent months. Iranian officials hope the report will confirm its claims that its nuclear program is strictly peaceful. Ahmadinejad said the IAEA confirmed in previous reports that Iran has only a civilian nuclear program.

“You can blame the agency all you like, but if you are going to start some new game, you will be dealing with these same people,” he said.

The IAEA stated in Vienna on February 20 that it is aware of a recent claim by an Iranian opposition group, the National Council of Resistance, that Iran is researching the development of nuclear warheads at a facility in Khojir, outside Tehran, AFP reported.

IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said the IAEA is examining the credibility of the claim. This is not the first such claim or alert regarding Iranian government activities to be made by the National Council of Resistance. The group is a front for the left-wing Mujahedin Khalq Organization, considered a terrorist organization by Iran, the EU, and the United States.

Source Radio Free Europe

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Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty,

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