Iran: Nuclear program will be operating by February
Pastor Dale Morgan
Iran: Nuclear program will be operating by February*
POSTED: 1836 GMT (0236 HKT), November 14, 2006
TEHRAN, Iran (CNN) -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday
his country expects its uranium enrichment program to be ready by
February to meet Iran's nuclear fuel needs, the national news service
IRNA reported.
"We will commission some 3,000 centrifuges by this year end. We are
determined to master fuel cycle, and commission some 60,000 centrifuges
to meet our demands," the president said at a news conference closed to
foreign reporters.
"Today the Iranian nation possesses the full nuclear fuel cycle and time
is completely running in our favor in terms of diplomacy."
Ahmadinejad said Iran hopes to celebrate its nuclear success during the
"Ten-Day Dawn" festivities at the beginning of February, which mark the
country's victory in the Islamic Revolution, the Islamic Republic News
Agency reported.
"This year's Ten-Day Dawn period will mark the Iranian nation's success
in mastering fuel cycle as well as its achievements in other fields,"
the president said.
A report by the International Atomic Energy Agency released Tuesday said
agency experts have found unexplained plutonium and enriched uranium
traces in a nuclear waste facility in Iran and have asked Tehran for an
explanation, according to wire service reports.
Ahmadinejad said he is willing to have a "dialogue" with the U.S.
government, but only if the United States has a respectful attitude
toward Iran.
"If they fix their behavior toward us, we will have a dialogue with them
because that's a principle of our foreign policy. But you know, they
have their own way of thinking. They really think they own the world,
they always sort of look down upon you," the president said. (Watch
Iranians welcome U.S. election results -- 2:21)
During his talk, Ahmadinejad said recent election results in the United
States marked the failure of U.S. policies, based on imposition of its
will on others, support for bullying, plunder, unilateralism and
humiliating other governments.
Ahmadinejad said the peaceful use of nuclear energy has been the most
important issue facing the country since he took office just over a year
ago, noting that powerful nations, presumably including the United
States, have stood against Iran to try and prevent it from attaining its
rights.
He has repeatedly said uranium enrichment is his country's right and
will not be abandoned, despite Western fears that Iran's goal is to
build nuclear weapons. The president said the uranium is for civilian
projects.
Tehran ignored an August 31 U.N. Security Council deadline demanding it
halt its nuclear program.
By early October, Iran had resumed its uranium enrichment program by
building a second cascade of centrifuges and injecting gas into the
system, IRNA had said.
But Tuesday, Ahmadinejad said, "Iran is a country committed to nuclear
regulations." He contended that Iran has been cooperative with relevant
institutions.
After hearing media reports on Ahmadinejad's comments, U.S. National
Security Council spokesman Gordon Johndroe responded, "Iran needs to
live up to its obligations to the IAEA, the U.N. Security Council and
the whole international community, which is united in its desire to see
Iran stop all enrichment activities."
'A message to the American people'
Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that Iran is ready for better relations with
other countries -- with one exception.
"We are after positive interaction with the whole world, except a state
which we consider its foundation as wrong and do not attach any value to
its legitimacy," he said, referring to Israel.
Ahmadinejad also said Tuesday he has something to tell the American people.
"I will soon send a message to the American people. The message is in
the stage of preparation," he said. Without elaborating, he said his
message would be in response to U.S. government statements.
CNN's Aneesh Raman contributed to this report.