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KurdistanObserver.com
Iranian President:
Iran Can Help Secure Iraq, Israel is cruel And Illegal
Thursday, September 13, 2007 -
IranMania
LONDON, September 13 (IranMania) - Iran wants "peace and friendship for all,"
the country's president said while again denying Western assertions his nation
is pursuing nuclear weapons and trying to destabilize Iraq, CNN reported.
But Mahmoud Ahmadinejad took a hard line against Israel, calling it "an invader"
and saying it "cannot continue its life."
Asked if Iran had launched a proxy war in Iraq, something the US ambassador and
top military commander there both asserted this week, Ahmadinejad said the
United States is merely seeking a scapegoat for its failing campaign in Iraq.
"Forces have come into Iraq and destroyed the security, and many people are
killed," the Iranian president told Britain's ITN during an interview in the
garden of the Iranian presidential palace in Tehran.
"And there are some claims that may seem very funny and ridiculous. Those who
have lots of weaponry and warfare and thousands of soldiers -- if they are
defeated, they blame others. There is no way to escape for peace."
Iranians do not believe in war and consider it a "last resort," he said.
He further claimed that Tehran is a friend of Iraq, maintaining "good
relationships" with the Sunni, Shiite and Kurdish factions -- and "if Iraq is
not secure, we are the first country that would be damaged."
He added, "Responsible people should understand this: that Iran is against any
sort of insecurity and attacks, and Iraq is able to defend themselves." Watch
Ahmadinejad discuss issues affecting his country ?
Ahmadinejad urged the United States and Britain to reconsider the invasion of
Iraq. The two countries should "correct themselves," he said. If they don't,
"the defeat would repeat."
The Islamic republic could help improve conditions in Iraq, but first coalition
forces must leave, he said.
"We can help solve many problems in Iraq. We can help secure Iraq. We can help
the attackers leave Iraq if the American government and British government
correct themselves." he said.
As for allegations that Tehran is pursuing a nuclear weapon, Ahmadinejad said he
resents the notion that Iran "has to obey whatever was put to us" and asked why
there is no similar furor over American and British nuclear programs.
"Our bombs are dangerous, but American bombs are not dangerous?" he asked.
When the ITN interviewer asked if he could tour the Natanz nuclear facility in
Iran, Ahmadinejad chuckled and asked him if he thought the United States or
Britain would allow Iran to inspect their nuclear facilities.
"We do not need a bomb. We are against bombs, actually. There are many reasons
we are against it," he said. "From a political point of view, it's not useful,
we think."
In regard to Israel, which Ahmadinejad has said should be politically "wiped off
the map," the Iranian president said there is a way to deal with the Jewish
state without violence.
Giving as an example the dissolution of the Soviet Union, which he said came
about "without war", Ahmadinejad suggested that "everything would be solved" if
the Palestinian people were allowed to vote on their fate.
However, his hard-line rhetoric resurfaced when Ahmadinejad said Israel "cannot
continue its life."
"Israel is an invader and is cruel, and it hasn't got a united public. All other
nations are against it," he said. "We do not recognize them. They are attackers
and illegal." |
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