Iran: Israel Is A 'Fake Regime'

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad hinted Monday that Iran was considering withdrawing from the worldwide Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and said he did not think the U.N. Security Council would impose sanctions on Iran.

"Those who speak about sanctions would be damaged more (than Iran)," he told a press conference. "But no particular event will happen, don't worry."

On Monday, Iranian President Ahmadinejad faced foreign reporters for only the second time – and he seemed to enjoy the give and take, reports CBS News correspondent Elizabeth Palmer.

"I'm interested to know whether there's anything the world could do to persuade Iran not to continue to make highly enriched uranium?" Palmer asked the president.

After dodging the question, the president finally replied: "Those who say we should give up our rights should come up with a good reason."

Ahmadinejad said that Iran would reconsider its compliance with NPT and membership of the International Atomic Energy Agency if they continued to be of no benefit to the country.

"What has more than 30 years of membership in the agency given us?" he asked.

Ahmadinejad on Monday also renewed his criticism of Israel, calling it a "fake regime" that cannot continue to exist.

"Iran's threatening statements about Israel and its defiance are part of the reason that Security Council members are united about sending a message to Iran about its nuclear program," said CBS News foreign affairs analyst Pamela Falk at the United Nations. "But as the deadline at the U.N. approaches, action on sanctions appears unlikely."

"Yet, with the deadline for the international watchdog agency report four days away, some officials of the Iranian government have indicated that a temporary freeze or a Russian proposal to enrich uranium outside of Iran may be possible," Falk added.

The IAEA, a U.N. body, has accused Iran of failing to answer all questions about its nuclear program and reported the country to the Security Council for non-compliance with its demands.

"Working in the framework of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty and the agency is our concrete policy," he added. "(But) if we see that they are violating our rights, or they don't want to accept (our rights), well, we will reconsider."

The Security Council has given Iran until Friday to suspend enrichment of uranium, a process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors material for nuclear warheads. Iran has rejected the demand, arguing it is entitled to the peaceful use of enrichment as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.

The anti-Israel remarks by the hard-line leader came a day after interim Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert urged the international community to work against Iran's nuclear program, saying Tehran's ambitions threaten not only Israel but all of Western civilization.

"Some 60 years have passed since the end of World War II. Why should the people of Germany and Palestine pay now for a war in which the current generation was not involved?" Ahmadinejad said at a news conference.

"We say that this fake regime (Israel) cannot not logically continue to live," he said.

"Open the doors (of Europe) and let the Jews go back to their own countries," Ahmadinejad said.

He added that Europeans should jettison their "anti-Semitism" to enable Israelis to "return" to their continent, and "allow Palestinians to decide their own fate and live freely."

Israel has long identified Iran as its biggest threat, and these concerns have grown amid repeated calls by Ahmadinejad for Israel's destruction.

"From the point of view of seriousness, this tops the state of Israel's list, it is potentially an existential threat," a government statement quoted Olmert telling the weekly Cabinet meeting.

"The Iranian nuclear program should concern many countries, especially those with global responsibility," Olmert said, adding that the international front against Iran should include the United States, Europe and other Western countries.

Also Monday, a top Iranian official said Tehran is prepared to freeze its uranium enrichment for a short time, but this should not be construed as a readiness to abandon it.

"Iran would not have a problem with a short-term suspension (of uranium enrichment). But the difficulty is that the West and the United States would use that as an excuse for extending" the suspension, said Hasan Rowhani, a member of the Supreme National Security Council.

Rowhani's statement was not immediately endorsed by other officials and it was unclear if he spoke for the government.

The comments came four days before Friday's expiration of a U.N. Security Council deadline for Iran to suspend its enrichment of uranium, a process that can produce fuel for nuclear reactors material for nuclear warheads.

"Their final aim is to prevent Iran from completing the enrichment technology," Rowhani said. "Our red line in Iran's nuclear case is that Iran's rights must be guaranteed and we must be able to enrich (uranium)."

The United States says Iran is using a civilian nuclear program as a cover for producing weapons. Iran denies that, saying its program is designed only to generate electrical power.

Earlier this month, Iran announced that for the first time it had enriched uranium with the use of 164 centrifuges, a step toward large-scale enrichment — which would be necessary to for making nuclear fuel or weapons.

The president also questioned the need for talks with the United States about neighboring Iraq.

In March the United States said it was ready for talks with Iran about its help with quelling the chaos in Iraq, where a Shiite Muslim majority with close ties to Tehran has a majority share in the government.

"Many times they (Americans) sent messages asking for help on security in Iraq. Iraqi leaders also asked the same. Unfortunately they did not have a good attitude in this regard. We believe that with the formation of new government, there is no need," Ahmadinejad said.