Ahmadinejad: Iran will stick to nuclear plans

TEHRAN (Reuters) – Iran will stand by its right to obtain
nuclear technology and anyone spreading propaganda against its
atomic program will come to regret it, Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Monday.

“No one can take away our nuclear technology. The Iranian
nation has obtained it and will preserve it. Some are against
the Iranian nation’s development,” he said in a televised
address to mark the start of the Iranian year on March 21.

He spoke as senior foreign affairs officials from the five
veto-holding U.N. Security Council powers and Germany were to
meet to try to break the impasse over Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

The Council has been unable for nearly two weeks to issue a
statement telling Iran to halt uranium enrichment efforts which
the West believes are a cover for bomb making. Iran says its
nuclear program is simply for generating electricity.

Ahmadinejad said Iran would resist efforts to undermine its
nuclear program just as it pursued the nationalization of its
oil industry last century against the wishes of Western powers

“A while ago, they were against the nationalization of our
oil industry. They were saying that this (oil) smelt bad and is
useless and you don’t need it. That day the Iranian nation
resisted, and today they are saying the same things about
nuclear energy,” he said.

“The Iranian nation will resist with God’s help,” he added.

Iran had previously agreed to suspend its uranium
enrichment activities under an agreement with Britain, France
and Germany. That deal broke down last year and, in February,
Iran started tests on enriching uranium.

“They were hoping through propaganda and psychological war
to take this (nuclear technology) away from us. I am suggesting
to them to learn their lesson and apologize to the Iranian
nation,” he said.

“They should be sure that if they continue, they will
regret continuing to make baseless propaganda against Iran,” he
said without elaborating.