Iran: 'We Do Not Need A Bomb'

Ahmadinejad Insists Again That Tehran's Nuclear Program Is Peaceful

(CBS/AP)  Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted Thursday that Tehran does not need atomic weapons and he is "at a loss" about what more he can do to prove that.

Ahmadinejad said his country has not hidden anything and was working within the framework of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty.

"The bottom line is we do not need a bomb," he said at a news conference on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly.

The nations seeking to halt Iran's disputed nuclear activities are working out a new deadline for the Islamic republic and have authorized the European Union's foreign policy chief to go anywhere at any time to meet Tehran's top nuclear negotiator.

Despite the possible new accommodations, diplomats said they are not willing to wait much longer for Iran to respond more definitively to their package of incentives to stop uranium enrichment.

Ahmadinejad said he believed negotiations on the issue were "on the right track."

"Our position on suspension is very clear," Ahmadinejad said. "Under fair and just conditions ... we will negotiate about it."

He said the Iranians "want to make sure that everything we agree on" has a guarantee but they were not looking for security measures.

"We are able to protect ourselves and our security," he said. "What we speak of are guarantees of enforcement of provisions that are agreed upon."

He also accused the United States of having a double standard and said it should destroy its own nuclear arsenal, which would make it "less suspicious of others."

He questioned what the U.S. has done to shut down its weapons program. "They too need to submit a report" to the International Atomic Energy Agency on its nuclear program, he said. "We've acted in a very transparent manner."

Ahmadinejad, whose country has been accused of smuggling weapons to the Islamic militant group Hezbollah, which fought a 34-day war with Israel this summer, said Lebanon's internal affairs were its own concern.

"We give spiritual support to all those who want to support their rights," he said when asked about whether Iran is arming Hezbollah. He added that Iran supports "permanent stability in Lebanon, and we will fall short of no means in supporting this goal."

The hard-line Iranian leader also reached out to the American people, two days after President Bush addressed himself to the Iranian public.

"The people of the United States are highly respected by us ... many people in the United States believe in God and believe in justice," he said.

In response to a question by an Israeli TV reporter on his past remarks that he sought the destruction of Israel, Ahmadinejad hesitated before responding.

"We love everyone in the world — Jews, Christians, Muslims, non-Muslims, non-Jews, non-Christians," he said. "We are against ugly acts. We are against occupation, aggression, killings and displacing people — otherwise we have no problem with ordinary people."

"Everyone is respected. ... We declare this in a loud voice," he said.

With world leaders gathered at the United Nations, the U.S. had hoped to move decisively this week toward political and economic sanctions against Iran after it missed an Aug. 31 U.N. Security Council deadline to halt uranium enrichment.

Oil-rich Iran insists the program has the peaceful purpose of producing fuel for nuclear reactors that generate electricity. But the U.S. and other countries fear Iran's goal is to build a nuclear arsenal and transform the balance of power in the Middle East.

A dinner meeting Tuesday with British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the foreign ministers of France, Russia, China, Germany and Italy produced little consensus about the next step, U.S. Undersecretary of State Nicholas Burns said. He said the diplomatic effort to counter Iran was in "extra innings."

French Foreign Minister Philippe Douste-Blazy said Wednesday that the nations leading efforts to halt Iran's uranium enrichment are working on a new deadline for Tehran to provide a more definitive response, despite differences over sanctions.

France also is pushing a compromise proposal that would have Iran suspend uranium enrichment at the same time as a Security Council suspension of all threats of sanctions.

Former President Bill Clinton, meanwhile, said Thursday the U.S. should try talking to Iran about its nuclear weapons ambitions without imposing a lot of conditions.

"If you think you might have trouble with somebody, and God forbid if you think it could lead to a military confrontation, then there needs to be the maximum amount of contact beforehand,'' Mr. Clinton said in an NBC interview.

"The United States should not be afraid to talk to anyone. They should not be reluctant and shouldn't have too many conditions,'' said Mr. Clinton, who said his own offer to meet with Iranian Ahmadinejad's predecessor had been rebuffed.

[tellitasitis]

The president of Iran is a calls for Isreal to be wiped off the map. Perhaps Iran should be wiped off the map. He is nothing more than an Islamic Fascist. He is perhaps more dangerous than Hitler (Hitler could't get Nukes). Todays world is remonisant of 1939 in Europe before Germany invaded Poland. The entire world is asleep. We are so afraid of upsetting people that we allow a group of radicals call for the assasination of the pope. Who do these radials think they are. If Islam is a peacefull religion why do they firebomb a church, kill a nun in cold blood and call for the pope to be assasinated. Wake up world, these people want to kill for the sake of killing.

[tellitasitis]

grazinggoat, shut the ****-up and stop telling a story you learnt like a repeating parrot. You're just a sh*t-stirrer as many others. Bring in good arguments or shut up.

[iswhatitis1]

This guy is obviously hiding something. I think he is crazy like a fox. He plays this hardline position with China and Russia backing his play cuz he knows that he get the rest of the world to hesitate. The UN sits around and talks for years while his nation can finally master the bomb. Does he plan on using it? I doubt it, but it is a huge ACE in the poker game of global politics. He sees that we (Americans) are goin after oil and countries that hate us our first on the list. If he has a bomb that is the best insurance, hey, it worked for N.Korea. Personally, I agree with conservative Americans we should not listen to this guy. He is too smart for his own good, and yes we are greedy, but as the quote goes "greed is good". How else can we prosper and maintain ourselves as the leading world power? Its true these middle-eastern countries can play the oil card on us, but is that a good thing? How much are we gonna let them *** around before we just invade their sorry *****?

it is what it is

[cantshutup]

i agree with persianmight.Americans do consume more than their share of oil in the world.we should personally evaluate this.if we just thought about the big picture we'd see what our greed causes.i'm wondering if it's worth all this trouble?.we should stop driving our cars, put windmills in our yards and reconsider simpler more conservative lifestyles.our greed does drive the oil industry, the automotive, banking every profiteering blood sucking corporation in America that controls our government is the reason we have a schairy iranian midget getting a criminal US president to scare the hell out of us so he can continue to profit from global misery.if we changed our ways we could "kill two birds with one stone" so to speak.there would be no profit for pirates like bush and cheney and oil producers would loose us as income.think of the us dollars that could make our great country an even more perfect union! if Americans found leaders who would direct our dollars to fulfill our needs?i'll bet these problems would end there.but if it's true what some say, that muslims want to control the world we will have to destroy them when they bring the fight to us.and the same goes for our current criminal government.i think people are ready for better and smarter and just plain good sense.those are human not republican, democrat, muslim, etc etc traits. get out your bikes and walking shoes, implement ways to reduce our dependence on foreign oil and let these other jerks take a hike.

[cantshutup]

dammmmnnnn grazing goat!

[grazinggoat]

Meyerda, shut the ****-up and stop telling a story you learnt like a repeating parrot. You're just a sh*t-stirrer as many others. Bring in good arguments or shut up.

[teddebare]

Mr. Ahmadinejad is not a madman. He is the head of a state that we disagree with. It is common for american to demonize their enemy.

He made reference to the year 1948 and the large influx of people to Palestine. Before condeming Mr. Ahmadinejad and other of that region I suggest we american to abit of historical research. Most of the current problems in this region was born during this period.

[meyerda]

The president of Iran is a terrorist. He calls for Isreal to be wiped off the map. Perhaps Iran should be wiped off the map. He is nothing more than an Islamic Fascist. He is perhaps more dangerous than Hitler (Hitler could't get Nukes). Todays world is remonisant of 1939 in Europe before Germany invaded Poland. The entire world is asleep. We are so afraid of upsetting people that we allow a group of radicals call for the assasination of the pope. Who do these radials think they are. If Islam is a peacefull religion why do they firebomb a church, kill a nun in cold blood and call for the pope to be assasinated. Wake up world, these people want to kill for the sake of killing.

[tellitasitis]

PersianMight

I live in the midst of oil country FYI - what you DON'T know is what YOU don't know......


and that still leaves you hungry.........

[greenmt06]

What kind of religion is it (Islam) if it kills you for even thinking about going to Christianity? Are these people so brainwashed that they could believe that Mohammed would kill someone for being a different religion? I don't think so..God and the prophets would not want it that way. What ever happened to what they preached about love, tolerance and not KILLING!