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Iran Could Make Atomic Bomb Within 18 Months - Russian MP

Posted on: Sunday, 15 January 2006, 18:00 CST

Text of report by Russian Ekho Moskvy radio on 15 January

[Presenter] Many people in Moscow, Tehran's long-time ally, fear that Iran's regime is really working on an atomic bomb. Dmitriy Rogozin, the head of the State Duma Motherland faction, spoke about this on Ekho Moskvy. Rogozin is sure that Tehran will not be intimidated by even the toughest pressure from the international community.

[Rogozin] Any ultimatums that the international community will start issuing now, even referring the Iranian issue to the UN Security Council, will not have a serious influence over Tehran, because they have already made up their minds. They understand that the speed of deciding on the issue of increasing the pressure on Iran is such that it will take the Americans and NATO a year or a year-and-a-half to be able to deploy some kind of a military infrastructure that would threaten Iran's security. Over this time Iran is likely to come very close to not only inventing, but also producing fissionable material that could be used against any potential aggressor.

[Presenter] Rogozin said Iran needs nuclear weapons not to destroy the world, but as the only guarantee to preserve its own sovereignty.

Source: BBC Monitoring Middle East

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