A new U.S. intelligence review claiming Iran stopped developing an atomic weapons program in 2003 is a "declaration of victory" for Iran's nuclear program, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Wednesday.
"This is a declaration of victory for the Iranian nation against the world powers over the nuclear issue," Ahmadinejad told thousands of people during a visit to Ilam province in western Iran. "This was a final shot to those who, in the past several years, spread a sense of threat and concern in the world through lies of nuclear weapons," Ahmadinejad said, according to the AP.
"The report proved legitimacy of the Iranian nation to the enemies," the Iranian leader conveyed. "The report said clearly that the Iranian people were on the right course," Ahmadinejad said. "Today, Iran has turned to a nuclear country and all world countries have accepted this fact," he noted.
Meanwhile, Russia's foreign minister stated there was no proof that Iran has ever run a nuclear weapons program. "Data that we have seen don't allow to say with certainty that Iran has ever had a nuclear weapons program," Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Wednesday when asked to comment on the U.S. intelligence report.
However, the Bush Administration continued its tough approach toward Tehran. US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on Wednesday said it would be a "big mistake" to ease any diplomatic pressure on Iran despite the new U.S. findings. "I continue to see Iran as a dangerous power in international politics," Rice told reporters traveling with her to Ethiopia where she planned to see African leaders. "At this moment, it doesn't appear to have an active weaponization program. That frankly is good news. But if it causes people to say, 'Oh, well, then we don't need to worry about what the Iranians are doing,' I think we will have made a big mistake."
Rice urged nations such as China and Russia not to harden their stance against a new round of sanctions. "People need the opportunity to absorb what they've heard," Rice said. "We have been completely transparent about what the intelligence assessment says. And people need a chance to read it. When they do that and when they read it in its detail and nuance, they will be able to see the points that I have made."
