Iran says nuclear issue “existential” for Islamic Republic

Iran Focus: Tehran, Iran, Feb. 24 – A senior Iranian cleric said on Friday that the Islamic Republic’s survival depended on its acquisition of nuclear capabilities and vowed that Tehran would never succumb to pressure by the West to abandon its nuclear pursuit. Iran Focus

Tehran, Iran, Feb. 24 – A senior Iranian cleric said on Friday that the Islamic Republic’s survival depended on its acquisition of nuclear capabilities and vowed that Tehran would never succumb to pressure by the West to abandon its nuclear pursuit.

Addressing worshippers during Friday prayers in Tehran, Ayatollah Mohammad Emami-Kashani, who is close to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, said, “Nuclear energy has become intertwined with our existence and prestige. We will not allow the enemy to succeed in depriving us of nuclear technology”.

Emami-Kashani said that the West was conspiring to prevent Islamic nations from acquiring nuclear capabilities. Economic sanctions were a tool used by the “enemy” against Muslims, he added.

The 35-nation board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Tehran to the United Nations Security Council earlier this month for breaches of its nuclear obligations.