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Iranian President Ahmadinejad during his speech to Indonesian students in Jakarta, Indonesia, Thursday. (AP)
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| By Associated Press May 11, 2006 |
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Iran's president on Thursday called Israel a tyrannical regime that will one day be destroyed, and vowed to continue defending his country's right to develop nuclear technology.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has previously said Israel should be wiped off the map, told a cheering crowd of students in the Indonesian capital that it is every country's right - not just the United States - to use new technology to meet "energy needs".
Students applauded and listened intently throughout his speech of about an hour, holding signs saying "Iran in our Hearts," and "Nuclear for Peace."
Ahmadinejad, known for his fiery rhetoric and frequent bashing of Israel, was visiting Indonesia amid a deepening standoff over his country's nuclear program and suspicions it is developing nuclear weapons.
"We are not only defending our rights we are defending the rights of many other countries," he said. "By maintaining our position, we are defending our independence."
Yet he also said his country was willing to negotiate, but that the United States first must drop its "bad attitude."
Key U.N. Security Council members agreed this week to present Tehran with a choice of incentives or sanctions in deciding whether to suspend uranium enrichment.
Earlier, the Iranian leader told Indonesia's Metro TV station that he was unconcerned about the possibility of U.N. sanctions, saying the West had more to lose than Iran did if the country was isolated.
"We do not need to be dependent on others," he said, adding international isolation would serve only to "motivate" the country's nuclear scientists.
Asked what it would take to begin talks with the United States to resolve the standoff, he said the country would talk to anyone except Israel, which Iran does not recognize and which he called "a tyrannical regime that will one day will be destroyed."
"There are no limits to our dialogue," he said. "But if someone points an arm (a weapon) at your face and says you must speak, will you do that?," said Ahmadinejad, without elaborating.
While Washington has said it favors a diplomatic end to the dispute, it hasn't ruled out military force and is leading a charge at the United Nations for economic sanctions to be brought down on Iran.
Ahmadinejad is visiting the world's most populous Muslim nation on a three-day state visit before heading to the resort island of Bali for a development summit.
Around 300 students crammed into an auditorium at the University of Indonesia to hear him speak and ask him questions.
The excited students praised him for not wavering in the face of opposition from the United States.
One student, who identified herself as Fatima, asked Ahmadinejad how she could study in Iran. "You are a very brave president who stands up to America," she said.
The president immediately instructed Iran's ambassador to Indonesia to give her a scholarship, prompting cheers from the audience.
"I loved him, he was very charismatic," said first year economy student Deslina. "If it comes to that they should go to war. If I could, I would fight the United States she said.
Despite Ahmadinejad's hardline rhetoric, there were hints of a possible solution to the escalating international crisis from other quarters.
Hassan Rohani, Iran's former top nuclear negotiator, said on Wednesday that Tehran would consider ratifying an International Atomic Energy Agency protocol that provides for intrusive and snap inspections. Iran ended all voluntary cooperation with the IAEA in February, including allowing snap.
Ahmadinejad told reporters Wednesday in Jakarta that Iran will "absolutely not back out" of defending its right to pursue new technology, accusing the United States and other Western nations of monopolizing the nuclear technology market to secure profits while engaging in non-peaceful proliferation themselves.
The United States accuses Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies, saying it aims only to generate energy.
Israeli official: Time running out for diplomatic solution to Iranian nukes
The outgoing head of Israel's National Security Council said Wednesday that time is running out to find a diplomatic solution to Iran's nuclear program, but added it's still not too late.
Israeli military action should not be discussed, Giora Eiland told foreign reporters in Jerusalem.
"We do believe that a political solution to the problem is still achievable although time is running out," he said. "The relevant time terms can be measured in months."
"I don't think that any military option should be discussed right now," added Eiland, who is about to end his stint as head of the policy-making council after a new Israeli government took office last week.
Eiland's comments were in contrast to Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres' warning on Monday that Iran could be threatened with destruction if it continues to vow to destroy Israel.
"Be careful with your threats," Peres told Channel 1 TV. "Those who threaten to destroy are in danger of being destroyed."
Israel has grown increasingly concerned in recent months by calls from Iran's leader to wipe out Israel and Iran's efforts to develop a nuclear capability. Iran insists the program is for peaceful purposes, but Israel and the West believe Iran is trying to develop an atomic bomb.
In recent months Israel has expanded its military arsenal to deal with the Iranian nuclear threat, acquiring dozens of warplanes and long-range fuel tanks to allow them to reach Iran. However, officials have said they want to let diplomacy take its course and that joint action with other countries is preferable to Israeli unilateral moves.
Israeli officials have described Iran's nuclear quest as the Jewish state's greatest threat. Military experts disagree over whether Israel would be capable of taking out Iran's nuclear program on its own.
Such a mission would be more complicated than the 1981 Israeli raid that destroyed an unfinished Iraqi nuclear reactor because of the existence of multiple targets scattered throughout Iran, some of which are underground, and Iran's increasingly sophisticated defense systems.
Israel is widely believed to already possess nuclear weapons, though it refuses to confirm or deny it.
Eiland said a nuclear armed Iran could destabilize the Middle East by spurring a nuclear arms race in the region, with countries racing to match Iran's capabilities.
He said the international community must "find a way to speak in the same voice" in order to head off an Iranian nuclear bomb.
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