During a meeting in Indonesia,
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejiad said that the era of nuclear deterrence
“is over,” and nations that stockpile nuclear weapons are “mentally retarded.”
He also reiterated his long-running stance that Iran does
not possess nuclear weapons, nor does it seek to build one, as the nation does
not need atomic weapons to defend itself.
"The period and era of using nuclear weapons is
over. … Nuclear bombs are not anymore helpful and those who are stockpiling
nuclear weapons, politically they are backward, and they are mentally
retarded," Ahmadinejad said during a democracy forum in Bali,
Indonesia.
The Iranian president added that any government or agency
was free to inspect Iran’s
nuclear sites. That statement contradicts Tehran’s
recent policy of preventing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) observers
from accessing some of its nuclear sites.
The US
and its allies have long accused ing its nuclear facilities as a cover for
developing atomic weapons, a claim which Tehran
has repeatedly denied.
The subject has been an ongoing source of tension between Iran
and countries that remain skeptical of its nuclear ambitions – the US
and Israel
being the most vocal critics.
Israel
has hinted at taking military action against Iran’s
program for some time. Last week, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said that
the country and its allies will have to make a decision on military action
against Iran in
“eight to ten months.”
In September, General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, a senior commander
in Iran’s
Revolutionary Guard, warned that Tehran
would strike US bases in the region if Israel
attacked Iran.
“We will enter a confrontation with both parties and
will definitely be at war with American bases should a war break out,"
he told Al-Alam TV.
The US
has publicly maintained its preference for a diplomatic solution to the
tensions, and has imposed multiple rounds of economic sanctions against Iran
in the hopes of forcing Tehran to
end its nuclear program.
No comments:
Post a Comment