Posted on 04/11/2006 11:01:42 AM PDT by Blogger
TEHRAN, Iran
Iran has successfully enriched uranium for the first time, a landmark in its quest to develop nuclear fuel, hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday. He insisted, however, that his country does not aim to develop nuclear weapons.
In a nationally televised speech, Ahmadinejad called on the West "not to cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians" by trying to force Iran to abandon uranium enrichment.
"At this historic moment, with the blessings of God almighty and the efforts made by our scientists, I declare here that the laboratory- scale nuclear fuel cycle has been completed and young scientists produced enriched uranium needed to the degree for nuclear power plants Sunday," Ahmadinejad said.
"I formally declare that Iran has joined the club of nuclear countries," he told an audience that included top military commanders and clerics in the northwestern holy city of Mashhad. The crowd broke into cheers of "Allahu akbar!" or "God is great!" Some stood and thrust their fists in the air.
The U.N. Security Council has demanded that Iran stop all uranium enrichment activity by April 28. Iran has rejected the demand, saying it has a right to develop the process. The head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, Mohamed ElBaradei, is due in Iran this week for talks to try to resolve the standoff.
The White House denounced the latest comments from Iranian officials, with spokesman Scott McClellan saying they "continue to show that Iran is moving in the wrong direction."
Ahmadinejad said Iran "relies on the sublime beliefs that lie within the Iranian and Islamic culture. Our nation does not get its strength from nuclear arsenals."
He said Iran wanted to operate its nuclear program under supervision by the International Atomic Energy Agency and within its rights and regulations under the regulations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Iran is going down PING!
Breaking News?
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1613078/posts
Iram is finished.
THe clock is ticking.......
This was an article quoting CURRENT president, Ahmadinejad not Rafsanjani. Different article.
For crying out loud!!! How much longer are we going to wait? This has got to be STOPPED!!! And I mean NOW!!!
I'm all for diplomacy, but at some point you do have to use that "last resort"....
I didn't say it was a duplicate. It sure wasn't breaking.
Okay. I guess if Bill Clinton said something about what we are doing today, it is more breaking than if George Bush says it. The breaking part was Ahmadinejad's boasting.
I hope the world demands proof of this claim before he succeeds in using it as a bargaining chip to gain all sorts of concessions. For some reason I don't trust much this guy says.
Because instead of democracy, those wacky Iranians are just DYING for uranium enrichment!
"In a nationally televised speech, Ahmadinejad called on the West "not to cause an everlasting hatred in the hearts of Iranians" by trying to force Iran to abandon uranium enrichment."
As opposed to the temporary hatred today? Get real.
"For they have sown the wind,
and they shall reap the whirlwind."
~ Hosea 8:7
Iran has now declared that they are open for the business of providing fissionable materials to stateless terrorists.
It's the message - not the messenger..
I'm not as worried about Megiddo and Iran. I expect them to have their come-uppance at Ezek 38.
Okay. We will just have to disagree about the significance of the post.
Fair enough.
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