Iran’s hard-line president threatened more changes to the country’s nuclear policy on Saturday, as tens of thousands of people rallied across the nation to celebrate the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution and, in many cases, to show support for
Iran’s nuclear rights.
State-run television called the nationwide demonstrations ”a nuclear referendum” and showed footage of rallies in Iran’s major cities. In Tehran’s Azadi Square, some young men wore white shrouds symbolising their readiness to die for the country’s nuclear ambitions. A group of school students wore jackets emblazoned with the words: ”Peaceful nuclear energy is our right.”
In a speech before tens of thousands massed in Azadi Square to mark the 27th anniversary of the revolution that brought a Muslim theocracy to power, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad focused on the building crisis surrounding Iran’s disputed nuclear programme.
”The nuclear policy of the Islamic Republic so far has been peaceful. Until now, we have worked inside the agency [International Atomic Energy Agency] and the NPT [Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty] regulations.
”If we see you want to violate the right of the Iranian people by using those regulations [against us], you should know that the Iranian people will revise its policies. You should do nothing that will lead to such a revision in our policy,” said Ahmadinejad.
The crowd in the square chanted: ”We would fight, we would die but we will not accept lowliness,” referring to Iran’s refusal to give in to outside pressure.
Ahmadinejad did not specify what changes Tehran envisioned, but it was believed to be a threat to withdraw from the NPT and the IAEA.
”The West is hiding its ugly face behind international bodies, but these bodies have no reputation among nations. You have destroyed the reputation of the NPT,” the Iranian president said.
Ahmadinejad appeared in part to be responding to a call on Thursday by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan for Iran to restore a freeze on its nuclear activities and pursue talks to shift its uranium enrichment programme to Russia.
While Iran’s nuclear programme has been formally reported to the UN Security Council, Annan said what’s important is that the Iranians and the Europeans who have been trying to resolve the nuclear dispute have said ”negotiations are not dead … and they are prepared to talk”.
”And I hope Iran will continue to freeze its activities, the way they are now, to allow talks to go forward, to allow them to pursue the Russian offer, and to allow negotiations with the European three and the Russians to come back to the table,” Annan said.
Britain, Germany and France have led months of futile talks on behalf of the 25-nation European Union amid suspicions that Iran’s civilian nuclear programme is aimed at producing nuclear weapons — not electricity as Tehran insists.
”When Western countries, such as France, threaten other countries by their nuclear weapons, it would be natural for Iran not to continue a soft nuclear policy. We basically oppose Iran’s membership in the NPT unless it recognises Iran’s full nuclear right,” said Mojtaba Bigdeli, spokesperson of the pro-Islamic, hard-line Hezbollah political party.
French President Jacques Chirac said last month that France could respond with nuclear weapons against any state-sponsored terrorist attack. His comments were perceived by some as directed against Iran.
Ahmadinejad also said the true Holocaust was happening now in the Palestinian territories and Iraq.
”If you want to find the real Holocaust, you will find it in Palestine where Zionists kill Palestinians every day. You will find it in Iraq,” he said.
He has declared the Nazi slaughter of six million Jews during World War II was a ”myth” and that Israel should be ”wiped off the map”, prompting worldwide outrage.
Ahmadinejad has not relented in attacking Israel and recently a Tehran newspaper announced it was holding a contest for caricatures of the Holocaust.
He charged that what he termed ”Zionists” were behind the publication of caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad which has prompted a series of global demonstrations by angry Muslims and attacks on Western embassies.
Tensions between Iran and the international community started escalating last month after Iran removed UN seals and began nuclear research, including small-scale uranium enrichment.
On February 11, the International Atomic Energy Agency’s board voted to send Iran’s nuclear file to the Security Council, saying it lacked confidence in Tehran’s nuclear intentions and accused Iran of violating the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Iran responded by ending voluntary cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog agency and announcing it would start uranium enrichment and bar surprise inspections of its facilities.
But the Islamic republic left the door open for further negotiations over its nuclear programme, saying it was willing to discuss Moscow’s proposal to shift large-scale enrichment operations to Russian territory in an effort to allay suspicions.
High-level talks on the proposal are scheduled to begin in Moscow on February 16, but Russia says it still awaits word from Tehran. The proposal is backed by the United States and the European Union as a way to provide additional oversight of Iran’s use of atomic fuel. – Sapa-AP