News Brief – November 14, 2006
There will be no stopping Iran's nuclear programme despite threats of UN sanctions, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told a press conference on Tuesday.
"Iran is completely mastering the nuclear fuel cycle and time is playing in favour of Iran," he said.
Referring to Western opposition to Iran’s nuclear program, Ahmadinejad said: “Initially, they were very angry …The reason was clear: They basically wanted to monopolize nuclear power in order to rule the world and impose their will on nations.
"The great powers have tried to prevent our people from achieving their rights in nuclear material," he said, as Western powers continue to discuss imposing sanctions on Iran for its nuclear ambitions.
President Ahmadinejad said he expects the uranium enrichment program to be ready by February to meet Iran's nuclear fuel needs.
"We will commission some 3,000 centrifuges by this year end. We are determined to master fuel cycle, and commission some 60,000 centrifuges to meet our demands," the president said at the news conference, which was closed to foreign reporters.
Ahmadinejad went on to say that he was willing to have a "dialogue" with the U.S. government as long as the U.S. had a respectful attitude toward Iran.
"If they fix their behavior toward us, we will have a dialogue with them because that's a principle of our foreign policy. But you know, they have their own way of thinking. They really think they own the world,” Ahmadinejad said.
Ahmadinejad said that Iran was ready for better relations with other countries – with one exception.
"We are after positive interaction with the whole world, except a state which we consider its foundation as wrong and do not attach any value to its legitimacy," he said, referring to Israel.
Last updated 16/11/2006
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