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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
(L) arrives at the National Congress in Quito on 15 January. Ahmadinejad
has come under fire from Iranian MPs for intending to use oil earnings for
a spending spree in next year's budget, in the latest criticism of the
government.
 Photo
Gallery>>> |
TEHRAN,
Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday that
his country was ready to face "anything" over the disputed nuclear program,
showing his intransigence to the UN sanction resolution and rumors of possible
U.S. military strike.
During a visit to the Iran Cultural and Press
Institute, Ahmadinejad said the Islamic Republic had gone through "formidable
path" over the nuclear program and "Iran is ready for anything on this path".
"We are intending to fulfill the nuclear project with
the least expense," he added.
The U.S. military has just sent the second aircraft
carrier to the gulf region, and some Western and Arabic media reports speculated
that the U.S. authorities had decided to launch attack against Iran from the sea
before this April and would deploy PAC-3anti-aircraft missile systems in Arab
countries.
Although White House has denied the rumors by saying
that the U.S. currently has no intention to attack Iran, the U.S. Defense
Secretary Robert Gates said that the increase of U.S. forces was at least aimed
at sending Iran a message not to misjudge the current situation in the Mideast.
Referring to the UN resolution 1737, Ahmadinejad said
Tehran would not be stopped by sanctions and threat.
"They are trying to weaken Iranian nation's
resistance, but they cannot succeed," he stressed.
The UN Security Council last month passed resolution
1737, deciding to impose sanctions on Iran's nuclear and missile program and
called on the country to suspend the enrichment activities. However, Iran denied
the request and vowed to install 3,000 centrifuges by March of 2007.
Ahmadinejad also rejected internal critics on his
nuclear policy when he returned from his visit to the Latin America.
"Unfortunately, certain people at home are
counterfeiting information in order to tarnish the great pride of the Iranian
people," he was quoted as saying.
"They are just repeating the enemy's slogans to
compromise, but this will be fruitless," the president added.
Some Iranian moderate conservatives and reformists
have recently slashed at President Ahmadinejad's economic and foreign policies,
accusing him of utilizing the people's support on nuclear issue to distract the
public from his failure in internal affairs.
Related:
Bush asked to get approval before war with Iran
WASHINGTON, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- Some lawmakers in the House of Representatives have introduced a bill calling on the Bush administration to get approval from the Congress before launching war against Iran, U.S. media reported Thursday.
Iran rejects UN chief's remarks over
nuke issue
TEHRAN, Jan. 18 (Xinhua) -- A senior Iranian official
on Thursday rejected UN chief Ban Ki-moon's recent remarks over the country's
nuclear program, saying Ban's position "should be in line with the UN
charter".
Iran says military attack impossible
but ready for threat
TEHRAN, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- A top Iranian nuclear official
said on Wednesday that he believed the Western military attack on Iran's nuclear
facilities was "highly improbable", but his country was ready to face the
threat, the local ISNA news agency reported.
U.S. says it not planning to invade
Iran
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- The United States said on
Tuesday that it is not planning to invade Iran and stressed diplomacy in trying
to resolve Iran's nuclear issue.
IAEA suspends technical nuclear aids
to Iran
VIENNA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- The International Atomic
Energy Agency has temporarily suspended some technical nuclear aid projects to
Iran in comply with the a UN Security Council resolution, Austria News Agency
reported on Wednesday.
Iran invites IAEA members to visit its
nuclear facilities
VIENNA, Jan. 17 (Xinhua) -- Some representatives of
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) members have been invited to visit
Iranian nuclear sites from Feb 2 to Feb 6, a senior envoy at IAEA told Xinhua on
Wednesday.
