Speaking in the province of Ilam, western Iran, on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad said that Tehran had no intention of halting its sensitive nuclear work. We are not afraid of your bogus stick known as the Security Council, he said, addressing the United States and the European Union which believe that Iran is working towards obtaining atomic weapons under cover of nuclear energy production.
Those who say that we should not use atomic weapons are those who have themselves used such weapons, the hard-line president said.
We will not back down from our stance, he proclaimed, adding, We will continue until we obtain nuclear technology.
France, Britain and Germany the EU-3 have led negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program since 2003. The talks broke off earlier this year when Iran unilaterally breached its agreement by resuming suspended activities of the nuclear fuel cycle.
Irans ultra-Islamist officials and media have been celebrating their victory over the West in the wake of the reported decision by the EU-3 to drop their demand that Iran shut down its nuclear plant in Isfahan before the resumption of talks.