Iran's
supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, meets with top
military
commanders. According to the supreme leader's Web site, this
photo
was taken some time last month. Smiling behind Khamenei is
Armed
Forces Chief of Staff, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi.
Kayhan, Islamic
Republic of Iran
Supreme Leader
Calls 'Nuclear Threats' By Obama 'Disgraceful'
Has
President Obama threatened Iran with a nuclear attack? According to this news
item from Iran's state-controlled Kayhan, Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah
Seyyed Ali Khamenei, says President Obama's recent statements not only threaten
Iran and North Korea with nuclear attack, but are an insult to 'all other
nations.' The article also describes a letter of complaint to the U.N. about
these 'threats.'
The enigmatic supreme leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei: Being implicitly mentioned as a violator of the NPT leaves it open to U.S. attack under America's new Nuclear Posture Review. Tehran has complained to the United Nations.
TEHRAN: Ayatollah Seyyed Ali
Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Revolution, condemned U.S. President Barack
Obama on Sunday for issuing a threat of nuclear attack against the Islamic
Republic. "He has implicitly threatened Iranians with nuclear weapons.
These comments are very strange and the world shouldn't ignore them, because in
the 21st century, a head of a state is threatening a nuclear attack," the leader
told top military officials in Tehran. "The U.S. president's statements
are disgraceful. Such comments harm the United States and mean that the U.S.
government is wicked and unreliable," the leader added.
On Tuesday, Washington
unveiled its new nuclear policy [the Nuclear
Posture Review], which limits the nation's use of its nuclear arsenal - but
indicated the United States could make exceptions in the case of
"outliers" like Iran and North Korea.
Highlighting the significant
role of the armed forces in defending the nation's territorial integrity,
Ayatollah Khamenei said that a vigilant Iranian nation is determined to remain
on the path of God. Referring to global developments, the leader said that in
such a world, a powerful, vigilant and courageous military force is of prime
importance.
Given the atrocities
committed by the big powers and their leaders, the leader said that those who
are real warmongers are the one's trampling on the legitimate rights of other states
under the guise of advocating human rights.
"Certain governments and
their leaders fully back aggression and the establishment of terrorist
organizations to achieve their sinister goals. But in dealing with the
international community, they take a humanitarian posture and use soft
words."
The leader said that recent statements
made by the U.S. president, who explicitly threatened Iran with nuclear weapons,
are a prime example of such posturing.
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"These remarks are surprising
and the world shouldn't ignore them - particularly in the 21st century, which
is regarded as the era of human rights and campaigning against terrorism. The
Americans did their best to imply that the Islamic Republic of Iran is not a
trustworthy country on nuclear issues. But the fact remains, that those who
possess such weapons and shamefully threaten others with such bombs are the unreliable
ones."
The leader advised Iran's
armed forces to exercise vigilance and prepare to deal with these threats.
"After 30 years, the Iranian nation has proven its great power and that
it's capable of thwarting every plot hatched by its enemies," added the
Leader.
He urged the armed forces to
adopt all needed strategies to promote the country's defense capabilities.
"The armed forces should
always be on full alert and be prepared to counter any threat by … taking their
training seriously," the leader said. Prior to his remarks, the chief of
staff of the armed forces, Major General Hassan Firouzabadi, briefed the leader
on the great potential and combat readiness of the Iranian armed forces for
dealing with various scenarios.
IRAN TO COMPLAIN TO U.N. OVER OBAMA
THREAT
Iran said on Sunday that it would
lodge a formal complaint against U.S. President Barack Obama with the United
Nations for threatening the country with a nuclear strike. Foreign Ministry
Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the move was backed by 255 of Iran's 290 Majlis
[parliament] members.
"We will submit a formal
complaint against this kind of threat to the United Nations," he said. The
spokesman went on to describe Obama's remarks as "a threat to global
security" and stated, "Such remarks prove that those countries which
possess nuclear weapons are the greatest threat to global security."
Last week, Obama made clear that
his administration reserves the right to launch a nuclear attack on Iran under
the pretext that the country is developing an atomic bomb.
Iran, a signatory to the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty, says its program is only for civilian
applications of the technology. The U.N. nuclear watchdog [the IAEA] has
declared in many of its reports that there is no evidence of a military
objective to the country's nuclear work.
Along with the United States,
the occupying regime of Israel, which possesses the Middle East's only nuclear
arsenal, has repeatedly threatened to attack Iran.
Iranian lawmakers, who have
instructed the Foreign Ministry to lodge the letter of protest, warned the
Obama Administration against destabilizing the "already tense Persian Gulf
and Middle East." In a statement, 225 MPs condemned Obama's warmongering
tone, saying that the U.S. president has endangered global peace and security. They
added that by using the language of war, the U.S. president has humiliated all
nations.
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Praising recent nuclear
achievements achieved by young Iranian scientists, the MPs said that by winning
such victories, Iran's nuclear scientists have proven that their enemies cannot
deprive the Iranian nation of its legitimate rights by issuing resolutions and
imposing sanctions.
"Such moves by the U.S.
and its allies, led by the illegitimate Zionist regime, cannot prevent the
technological and scientific development of the Iranian nation," the MPs
said.
CONTENTS OF LETTER
Iran has submitted a formally
complained to the U.N. over comments MADE by President Obama. Accoring to the official Iranian Republic News Agency, Tehran
considers the comments to be "nuclear blackmail.
In the letter, which was
submitted on Tuesday, Tehran questions the "intent" of Washington's
new nuclear policy [the Nuclear Posture Review], which it says contains threats
of nuclear attack against Iran.
"UN members shouldn't
tolerate or ignore nuclear blackmail in the 21st century," the letter says.
It was delivered by Iran's U.N. envoy, Muhammad Khazai.
According to the complaint, "The
United States, in an illegitimate manner, has identified a non-nuclear country
as a target for its atomic weapons and is drawing up military plans on that
basis."
Last week, Washington
unveiled its new nuclear policy, which limits the use of its nuclear arsenal, but
singles out Iran and North Korea as exceptions for reportedly flouting U.N.
Security Council resolutions.
Obama himself in an interview
with The New York Times said that Iran and North Korea were
"outliers" when it came to his new nuclear policy.
"Such comments are not only
express an intent, but are part of official U.S. documents used for the
formulation of American policy for using atomic weapons against a non-nuclear
country that is a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty. And therefore, it
is a real threat to international peace and security and also harms the NPT,"
the letter says.
The letter also says that U.S.
officials, such as Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton, have publicly made "implicit threats" to "use
nuclear weapons against Iran" based on completely incorrect
assumptions."
As a victim of weapons of
mass destruction, the letter says that Iran is committed to creating a world
without nuclear weapons. "U.N. members should take firm measures to
destroy all nuclear weapons, as this is the only guarantee against their use or
threats of their use," the letter says says.
Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad on Wednesday lashed out at Obama for his recent remarks on
Washington's new nuclear strategy, saying that his comments indicate a lack of
experience. Ahmadinejad said American leaders still act like cowboys and
Western movie heroes.
"Whenever there is a
problem, they take out their guns."