President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran brushed off a looming UN deadline to suspend a key part of his country's nuclear programme by dismissing the international body as an illegitimate tool of Britain and America.
In a press conference in Tehran yesterday, Mr Ahmadinejad restated his determination to continue Iran's nuclear activities, which the west suspects is aimed at producing an atomic bomb.
"The use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is the right of the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation has chosen this path ... no one can prevent it," he said.
His comments came two days before tomorrow's deadline, set by the UN security council, for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to build nuclear weapons, or face possible economic sanctions. Iran's response, presented last week, to an incentive package aimed at settling the dispute pointedly omitted any offer to suspend enrichment, which the UN has set as a precondition.
Mr Ahmadinejad also dismissed the possibility of suspension in response to a planned visit to Tehran by the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, this weekend. "We believe Mr Annan has to conduct himself in the context of international laws and regulations," he said. "No one should be accorded special powers."
The Iranian leader's defiant comments came amid familiar anti-western rhetoric directed specifically at Britain and America, whom he accused of treating other countries like "slaves" and of being the main cause of international tensions.
In an eye-catching gesture, he also challenged President George Bush to a live uncensored televised debate on how the world was run.
The White House dismissed the proposal as a "diversion".
Mr Ahmadinejad accused Britain and America of running a discredited international order stemming from their status as victors in the second world war, and identified the veto power they enjoy as permanent members of the security council as a cause of global injustice.
"Today certain countries have put aside special concessions for themselves and in the UN they have special rights," he said. "In the security council, which is supposed to achieve peace and security in the world, Britain and the United States have special rights and concessions. If another nation is involved in a conflict with them or is oppressed by them, there is no recourse for it. International relations has reached a point where the Americans and the British are imposing their will on more than 180 nations around the world."
Mr Ahmadinejad's attack on Britain reflects the sentiments of many Iranians, who blame it for monopolising Iran's oil industry and for the coup in 1953 which overthrew the nationalist prime minister, Mohammed Mossadeq.
In a press conference in Tehran yesterday, Mr Ahmadinejad restated his determination to continue Iran's nuclear activities, which the west suspects is aimed at producing an atomic bomb.
"The use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is the right of the Iranian nation. The Iranian nation has chosen this path ... no one can prevent it," he said.
His comments came two days before tomorrow's deadline, set by the UN security council, for Iran to suspend uranium enrichment, a process that can be used to build nuclear weapons, or face possible economic sanctions. Iran's response, presented last week, to an incentive package aimed at settling the dispute pointedly omitted any offer to suspend enrichment, which the UN has set as a precondition.
Mr Ahmadinejad also dismissed the possibility of suspension in response to a planned visit to Tehran by the UN secretary-general, Kofi Annan, this weekend. "We believe Mr Annan has to conduct himself in the context of international laws and regulations," he said. "No one should be accorded special powers."
The Iranian leader's defiant comments came amid familiar anti-western rhetoric directed specifically at Britain and America, whom he accused of treating other countries like "slaves" and of being the main cause of international tensions.
In an eye-catching gesture, he also challenged President George Bush to a live uncensored televised debate on how the world was run.
The White House dismissed the proposal as a "diversion".
Mr Ahmadinejad accused Britain and America of running a discredited international order stemming from their status as victors in the second world war, and identified the veto power they enjoy as permanent members of the security council as a cause of global injustice.
"Today certain countries have put aside special concessions for themselves and in the UN they have special rights," he said. "In the security council, which is supposed to achieve peace and security in the world, Britain and the United States have special rights and concessions. If another nation is involved in a conflict with them or is oppressed by them, there is no recourse for it. International relations has reached a point where the Americans and the British are imposing their will on more than 180 nations around the world."
Mr Ahmadinejad's attack on Britain reflects the sentiments of many Iranians, who blame it for monopolising Iran's oil industry and for the coup in 1953 which overthrew the nationalist prime minister, Mohammed Mossadeq.
By Guardian Unlimited
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