Here is the full text of that speech with an analysis by freeper StillProud2Befree:
Nope - the timing of the announcement was not an accident...
On the threshold of the birth anniversary of the honourable prophet of Islam and beside (the shrine of) Imam Reza, peace be upon him, and at this historic juncture, I would like to announce that, thanks to the blessing of His Holiness Lord of the Age (the 12th imam), may God hasten his noble advent, and thanks to the efforts of Iranian scientists, committed and creative young people and prayers of the brave, intelligent and ever-on-the-scene people of Iran, we have completed the nuclear fuel cycle at the laboratory level and our young people enriched uranium to the enrichment level required by nuclear power plants on 20 Farvardin (9 April) of the current year, 1385.
(Chants of: "God is great", "Khamene'i is our leader", "Down with those who oppose the rule of the supreme jurisconsult", "Down with America", "Down with Britain", "Down with Israel" and other indistinct slogans)
Iran: Ahmadinezhad Announces Completion of Nuclear Fuel Cycle, Uranium Enrichment
Speech by Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinezhad at a ceremony attended by senior military officers, "foreign guests," and government officials at Imam Reza Auditorium in Mashhad -- live
Vision of the Islamic Republic of Iran Network 1
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
In the name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. O God, please hasten the advent of the Lord of the Era and grant us the honour of becoming his pious companions. Peace be upon Imam Reza, the son of Ali.
O noble and honourable nation of Iran: May God's peace and salutations be upon you. Blessed be the souls of your martyrs. And may God honour the devotion of your war-disabled and war veterans. God's greetings upon our noble youths, who are crossing the frontiers of science, through their own endeavour. These young people have taken our nation to the rooftop of knowledge, science and global technology. And they will continue to make progress in this sphere.
Yesterday, it was thanks to the devotion of your courageous youths (on the battlefields of the Iran-Iraq war) that our dear Iran managed to climb onto the rooftop of independence and honour. And today, the beloved young people of our Islamic homeland are going ahead to conquer the summits of science and technology.
The noble Iranian people deserve to study science, to conduct research and to undertake selfless scientific endeavour. And this is a justified demand of our dear nation.
The beloved Prophet Muhammad of Islam called on all human beings to learn knowledge and acquire technology. In accordance with the same instructions (of Prophet Muhammad), our creative scholars and youths began extensive efforts to acquire various modern technologies. And praise be to God, they have managed to make considerable progress in medical science, engineering, aerospace and nuclear technology.
The reason for holding this glorious ceremony is the news concerning our major progress in the field of nuclear energy. The technical report on this progress was presented to you by (the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization) Mr Gholamreza Aqazadeh.
Access to nuclear fuel cycle is a national demand of the entire Iranian people. At their gatherings in cities, villages and in all parts of the world, our people, wherever they may be, have, time and again, stressed that point.
The most important manifestation of that national demand was on previous year's 22 Bahman (11 February; the anniversary of the Islamic Revolution) when the people, with their participation in tens of millions, in all cities of Iran, districts and many villages as well as various parts of the world, responded to a call by their servant. I had asked them to express their views. They expressed their decisive support and cried out their unanimous demand.
Since then and without exception, during any event or gathering, they have also stressed this rightful demand of theirs.
On the threshold of the birth anniversary of the honourable prophet of Islam and beside (the shrine of) Imam Reza, peace be upon him, and at this historic juncture, I would like to announce that, thanks to the blessing of His Holiness Lord of the Age (the 12th imam), may God hasten his noble advent, and thanks to the efforts of Iranian scientists, committed and creative young people and prayers of the brave, intelligent and ever-on-the-scene people of Iran, we have completed the nuclear fuel cycle at the laboratory level and our young people enriched uranium to the enrichment level required by nuclear power plants on 20 Farvardin (9 April) of the current year, 1385.
(Chants of: "God is great", "Khamene'i is our leader", "Down with those who oppose the rule of the supreme jurisconsult", "Down with America", "Down with Britain", "Down with Israel" and other indistinct slogans)
I would like to cordially congratulate all the martyrs and the Imam of the martyrs, the supreme leader and the great nation of Iran, and the dear youth of this country wherever they are inside or outside the country, at this holy place next to the shrine of the eighth Imam, on this great success; and officially declare that our beloved Iran has joined the nuclear countries of the world. This great historic achievement is the outcome of the endeavours and resistance of the great nation of Iran. And this is the beginning of greater and greater successes. Our nation, particularly our youths, managed to find access to this very important and valuable technology relying on God and on their power of will and innovation. I wish to pay tribute to the Imam (Khomeyni) and the martyrs at this historic moment.
The 20 Farvardin of 1385 is a great day. It will be chronicled in the history of Iran. It will continue to inspire this nation and will encourage this country's youth in all their endeavours.
I find it necessary at this point to highlight a few aspects of this epic event. Science and technology should serve humanity. Science must be accompanied with faith in order to serve peace, tranquillity and progress. We have repeatedly stated that we pursue only peace and stability based on faith and justice for all people. As we have always maintained and continue to do so, our nuclear technology is only used for peaceful purposes. We maintain that the only people who need weapons of mass destruction are those who are stuck in a frame of mind dating back to 50 years ago. These are the same people who still believe that by amassing weapons of mass destruction they can exploit political, economic and cultural interactions to their own advantage.
This is a civilized and cultured nation. It relies on the will of its faithful youth. In order to realize its aspirations, our nation depends solely on its noble ideas and values which are deeply rooted in the Islamic and Iranian culture. The source of our nations' strength is not nuclear arsenal. The strength of our nation stems from its deep religious faith. We have always maintained and continue to state that all our nuclear activities, in all its facets, have been within the IAEA guidelines. The agency has closely monitored all our activities. We would like to continue our activities while being monitored by the agency. What we have achieved and continue to achieve has been and will be within our nation's irrefutable rights. Our achievements are in line with the recognized rules and regulations including our rights as stipulated by the IAEA and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). We will continue on this path while adhering to international laws and pursuing our undeniable rights until we have produced industrial-level fuel which we will use in our power plants.
Unfortunately, in its path towards progress and development, our nation has been faced with some powers' anger, wrongdoings and bullying. Of course, our history is filled with such approaches. During the movement for the nationalization of oil, which was our nation's inalienable right, some of these powers demonstrated their opposition and impudently stood against the Iranian nation's undeniable right. Of course, I stress this point one hundred times, that this approach bore no results but the everlasting hatred of the Iranian nation towards them. Today, the very same people are using the same justification, language and psychological warfare and want to stop the Iranian nation from using its undeniable and unalienable right. I advise them not to repeat their bitter experience of the past and respect the Iranian nation's right. I advise them not to create everlasting hatred towards them in the minds and history of the Iranian and other freedom-seeking nations.
We have always maintained that the development and strength of the Islamic Iran aimed to serve peace, tranquillity and stability for all our neighbours and the world. The country will continue on the same path. As the representative of the people, the government fully supports the country's ulema, researchers, scientists and our talented youth who work towards advancing the country in various fields. The government fully supports their efforts. As a public servant I thank all those who have played a role in achieving this victory especially our scientists, researchers, mangers and employees of the Atomic Energy Organization and of course Mr Aqazadeh. I ask them to use all their abilities, speed up efforts and move at a greater pace towards fully realizing our goal of producing nuclear fuel for use in the power plants.
The Islamic Republic government would like to bow down before God and thank him for this great achievement and divine blessing and I would like to ask all Iranians outside and inside the country to thank God for this great blessing. I would like to sincerely thank the academics, intellectuals, foreign and domestic guests, honourable Majlis deputies and military commanders, students and the dear young people, artists, released POWs, the honourable martyrs' families, war-disabled, people from various walks of life from various parts of our Islamic homeland, and especially the leader's special representative, for taking part in this magnificent and historic meeting. I wish all the best and ever-increasing success and dignity for you and the dear Iranian nation.
For more translations and news on terrorism, visit
http://www.lauramansfield.com