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Dec 01, 2009
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: The West Needs Us More Than We Need the West

#2282 | 23:20
Source: Press TV (Iran)
ahmadinejad.doc

The following are excerpts from an interview of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, transcribed from the English simultaneous translation. The interview aired on PressTV on December 1, 2009.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: The language of isolation – to say that we want to isolate a certain nation... Where does this stem from? Where did it start to emerge? In the course of history there were arrogant powers, who thought they could do everything for the whole world. In our time – especially in the past 60 years – this language had been adopted.

[...]

In the past 56 years, this kind of literature, or language, has been prevalent. Four, five, or six countries have called themselves “the world community,” and they told the whole world, “It’s us who decide.” After the Islamic Revolution, generally and specifically in the past few years, this language has faded away. World equations have changed, and reactions have changed. This language is history. This language is no more.

[...]

They are just talking unknowingly. They imagine that there are seven billion people around the world waiting for them – to take their orders, for them to obey.

[...]

Peoples of the world do not recognize them. The right of veto is not recognized. The Security Council is not recognized. Talking about Iran – who can isolate Iran? This is something impossible. And the reason is clear. The peculiarities of Iran – it’s unprecedented, it’s unique. Look at the political atmosphere in the world. The most strategic part of the world is the Middle East. Both in terms of the economy, and political, and cultural, it’s the cradle of civilizations and cultures. It’s running in the people’s blood. It cannot be stopped. It’s the source of the world power energy. It’s the intersection between world continents.

[...]

There are great countries that even possess atomic bombs. They are also around Iran, but since they are pushed aside from the equations, they are now second-grade countries. Now, let’s come back to the Middle East, the most strategic part of the world. Here in this region, which country is the most important? It’s evident. The position of Iran is not deniable. It cannot be covered up, it cannot be ignored – both in terms of being a cradle of civilization, and having the capacity of production and culture, both in terms of manpower and in terms of science, knowhow, economy, and other political capacities. The people of Iran, throughout history – not only in the Middle East, but beyond the Middle East – have always been a determining factor in all political equations, and that is the same today. How can they ever do this? They need us.

[...]

Therefore, this is something irrelevant to say from those bigheaded, arrogant powers. It belongs to the past, and it cannot be implemented. I am surprised to hear such things.

[...]

Their power is diminishing, their economy is diminishing, and their efficacy is diminishing. You can see for yourself – what can they do in the Middle East? They can do nothing.

[...]

The world public opinion is supporting who? They know themselves that it is supporting the people of Iran. It does not mean that the Iranian nation feels superior over others. That’s not true. The Iranian people are brave enough to express what other people, in other countries, have in their hearts. If you see Iranian public opinion, you see that most countries’ people are supporting the people of Iran, because Iranians are talking the word of truth, and that’s why the world’s people support them. Even in America and in Europe, you can see this support. They put a cap on those feelings and sentiments, especially in Europe and America. They don’t allow people to express their feelings, through the methods that they have. So these comments belong to the past, especially those regarding Iran. They are meaningless, and even if they were meaningful, they could not be put into practice, because they need us more than we need them. We can do without them, but they cannot do without us.

[...]

The world is moving toward a new world order. There is a general inclination against the current order, and everyone is after the new relations outside of this colonial rule. This needed to be strengthened. This inclination is both in Africa, in Asia, and in Latin America. The countries we visited – we have good relations with them. It was necessary for us to cement our relations, and also to regulate and coordinate future plans.

[...]

We have several countries where we are having our own consultations and cooperation. We don’t want the West to know all of the plans we have for the future. Of course, we have plans... the thoughts... what we have proposed... We are having lots of supporters, with the bank that we based in Venezuela. Right after that, several more countries said they are for it, that they want to have the same bank. You see that the arrangements were made in several months, and a multi-national bank outside that circle will be formed, which is very important.

[...]

We are planting some young trees, and they will be forming into a new network. If we announce that we are forming such a new network, they will confront it – they do not allow this, they are plundering the whole world. They are the masters of the world because of this prevalent system. We are going to abolish this system and replace it with another system. Of course, most of the ballyhoo that they are creating against Iran is because of Iran’s potential, that Iran is able. [They say] Iran cannot be the source of new developments in the world.

[...]

We think that the nuclear issue is solved. We have no nuclear discussion with the West. Whatever they say – we have nothing to discuss about the nuclear issue. We are doing everything legally. We want our own rights. We don’t want anything more. Any legal questions they had – we replied to them. We got the confirmation. We did not care about the media hype and all the ballyhoo that they created. Any time they did anything illegally, we said we did not recognize it.

Certain governments are seriously opposed to that situation – including the UK. We are sure that the UK was against the Geneva talks, which were done in the right way. We were moving in the right way, on the way of understanding. The Zionist regime was strongly opposed to it, and they were after changing the calm atmosphere, and they wanted to say that there was no understanding. They make investments in this. Some people were deceived. Some countries were deceived. I think Russia made a mistake. I think Russia didn’t know what they did. They did not have a good analysis of the status quo in the world. Maybe they were misinformed, and they joined the other side. The Zionist regime and the UK were the major players. They pushed the panic button. They couldn’t imagine that what happened in Geneva was constructive talks between Iran and seven major countries, and we sat down and discussed issues. But if they want to say that it is superior to another one, we do not recognize it, and they all know this. That time is over.

[...]

They said that we want to get this fuel out of Iran, and then distance Iran from making bombs. This is something irrelevant to say. It’s meaningless. Specifically, we don’t want to make bombs. We are not like them. We are transparent. We are brave enough. If we ever want to make atomic bombs, we will announce it to the whole world. Our leaders said that in principle, basically, we oppose proliferation of bombs. It’s not in our defense doctrine.

[...]

It is ridiculous for the IAEA to set a condition. We are a member of the IAEA. You don’t give it to us – okay, we’ll produce it ourselves. I’m telling our respected Iranian people that there is no room for war – we have the technology, we can produce the fuel ourselves. WE just wanted to give them a chance for cooperation. They did not benefit from that chance. Of course, some people inside are to be blamed, and they themselves were also to blame. They shouldn’t have bowed down to the Zionist pressure and UK pressure. Then they issued this resolution, which has no legal basis.

[...]

Just look at it – how can they run the affairs of the world like this? The world cannot be run like this. A country that has atomic bombs, is not a member of the NPT, is not committed to anything – they leave it free, while we are a full member of the NPT and the IAEA, and this is the approach they have.

I have my question for them – if you see a wise person wants to make a choice, which one of these two will he choose? They are running the world in the worst possible way. They have their slogan that they want to... They are not after this. Their words and deeds don’t match. We are having our cooperation, and we have no atomic bombs, and you have no proof, and the one who has those weapons and has to cooperation with the IAEA is left alone. And they talk about running the world’s affairs, and that they isolate our country, they want to run the whole world, and provide security for everyone in the world. This is all nonsense. You know, they are just making fun of themselves.

So it’s not legal or binding, we have told them. This has already been our experience. If they want to experience it again, they can experience that again. We do not care. Of course, I never expected this. Especially Mr. Obama’s attitude is worrying. We expected Mr. Obama to make some changes, and we really tried, God knows. The people of Iran also know that the Islamic Republic wanted Mr. Bush to be able to bring about some fundamental changes, but we were aware that he cannot do anything right. Repeating Mr. Bush’s words and going his way – this is nothing new. [Obama] said that he is after change and that he is going to have new approaches. Especially regarding Iran, he made lots of comments. We always said we were for this, and we were waiting to see that in action. You take one step... I gave him the message, I said that I am ready for talks in Europe. Any opportunity... We gave him the opportunity. If they are honest – they could have taken the necessary steps. But now we are worried that he may not be able to do... He may continue the old administration’s policies. We did not want... Those positive developments... We wanted to see those positive developments happen in the US, but I think Mr. Obama’s performance is not so appealing.

[...]

So far, they have not been joking with us. They have always been serious, and the sanctions that they imposed before were no joke. Whatever they had in their power, they used. What else can they impose sanctions on? What sanctions do they want to place?

Interviewer: Gasoline, for example.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: Okay, it doesn’t matter. Let them place sanctions. I should tell our people that we have a system. Here, in one week, the whole of the gasoline that Iran is importing – we can produce it ourselves inside Iran. We are now producing something else. We will replace that with gasoline, any time we need. The most important item is gasoline. What else can they do? Inside Iran, we are producing our own food, our own cars, whatever we need, and we are even exporting many of these items. This is a great economy that we have in Iran. They need us. We don’t need them. I mean, they need us more than we need them.

Interviewer: So sanctions will not work at all, will not bring a negative...

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: We can’t say nothing, but it is just not logical to say they will bring about no consequences, but it’s not such a big deal, you know – talking about pressuring Iran and that kind of stuff. There are ways to compensate for that, and we know how to do it, with the blessing of God. I do not think they are after new sanctions, and I do not predict it to happen, because it would be to no avail. They have said whatever they wanted to say. They have done whatever they wanted to do. Especially militarily – I said that they are not in a position to think of military attack.

Interviewer: Aren’t you worried about military threats against sensitive spots in the country?

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: No, not at all. I have said that seriously – that we are not... I never joked with the Iranian people. I said: Any hand that is going to pull the trigger on Iran – that hand will be cut off. They know the power of Iran. They know that they cannot play us. Who’s going to do that? They have no capacity. Where do they want to bomb?

[...]

The Zionist regime is threatening everyone in our region. They are threatening me, Mr. Chavez, and everyone else. They said they have atomic bombs and they keep silent. But Iran has six major [answers] to reply to all the six major questions of the IAEA. They got all the replies. There is no more new question. Okay, they want to issue resolutions – no problem. Let them issue resolutions, as many as they want. Politically, we are happy that they are proving what we say about them. We are not empty-handed. When we talk to Japan, we tell them: Look at the double-standard. Even if we tell the US the same thing, they have nothing to reply.

[...]

Who is running the IAEA? We have been committed, we have performed all our commitments, but the IAEA has rendered no services to us. Should we continue cooperation? There is a big demand in Iran... Even Parliament has asked for this. It’s meaningless to cooperate with the IAEA and get nothing. We just wanted them to provide us with fuel, and they set lots of conditions. This is the most hilarious thing that they do. They want to set conditions to provide us with fuel? We will never accept that.

[...]

Everyone accepts, in Iran, that if we have some commitments, we also have rights. We want the Agency to give us our rights. But we have two kinds of cooperation. Once, maybe you are cooperating enthusiastically, and sometimes, you are only abiding by the law. They differ from one another. Do you understand this?

We have gone beyond the law. We have sat down and talked honestly, we have exchanged views. The inclination in Iran is actually to reduce that legal inclination – abiding by the law. From now on, we will simply move on the basis of the law and regulations. We are not afraid of their threats. We are not afraid of military attacks. They don’t know what they are talking about. Just forget about this, it’s out of the question. No one dares to do that. No one can even fancy the thought of a military attack against Iran. Maybe some wild Zionist might say that these are not their wars – they are run by others. They are nobody to make such comments. Maybe they say: We cannot control these Zionist people. If you cannot control them, step aside and we will control them if you can’t. So this is out of the question.

Forget about the military attack against Iran. You know it’s funny. They know what the response will be. Everyone knows. World public opinion also can never justify this. They first need to take care of the problems they have created and then, deal with this. So forget about that. Then, this remains the issue of... this kind of mistreatment, if you will. Sanctions, resolutions, and these things – they don’t work, but what the IAEA has done – of course Mr. ElBaradei... we are complaining to Mr. ElBaradei in his last days. He has tried his effort, but since they won, he should not have fallen into their trap.

[...]

We don’t want the US administration, like the previous administration, to buy itself a bad name. We want all of them to act honestly, but if they have chosen that path, then okay, that’s fine with us. They will face problems more than we will. If they want to enter that phase, they will have a second wave of the world economic crisis that will destroy them all. This is a scientific analysis.

[...]

Again, I’m saying that we don’t want them to place sanctions on us. They should stop talking about sanctions. But if they want to do that, they want to commit suicide, to hurt themselves, we are telling them not to do that, we warned them against it, but if they insist – okay, no problem, they can do whatever they want to do.

[...]

Now is no time for bluffing, and we are not the type to bluff. Whatever we do... Whatever we say, we’ll do. And they know it. Nothing has been secret. We have no commitment to tell them whatever we want to do. We never made such a commitment to the IAEA that if we want to construct a site, we should notify them. Six months before injection, we should do that. With what they did, we are reviewing even this. When the technology belongs to us, we have no commitment to notify them. If we import the technology, then they can come here and supervise it.

Of course, we have been forthcoming and cooperative, so far. It has been on the agenda of the government. Several months ago, we decided to expand and spread the departments, for several reasons. The fuel for the power plants that we are creating, and we will establish also in the near future to provide the fuel... 500,000 centrifuges we need. In Natanz, there is only [room] for 50,000 centrifuges, which means that we need ten more such sites. But the new centrifuges that we are making have a higher capacity than the older centrifuges that we are using now. But the demand for investment in power plants also is rising. The Atomic Energy Organization in Iran, since several months ago, was obliged to find the right site, or location, for the new facilities. They should be spread across the country in terms of security, which is really important.

The reports presented to the government by the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran finalized five spots. They brought this report, and then we said that this must be declared now. When there is a government decision, it must be declared. Then we were looking at five spots here, and they have to study about five more spots. They already did this, followed this through, and those who say that this is a political bluff... We never hid anything. We are brave enough to declare whatever we wanted to. We are famous for this in the world. That Iranians are brave – they are famous for that.

[...]

Interviewer: Mr. Kouchner – you have for sure heard – said that the Iranians are entering a very dangerous game.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: The French foreign minister, you mean? Well... I think he does not know what he says, because he talks too much, and the French people themselves say that he does not make balanced statements. What does he mean by “dangerous games”? What does he mean by that? They need to take care of their own problems in Paris, then deal with problems elsewhere. I think Mr. Sarkozy also doesn’t know how to deal with his foreign minister. These are the messages we get, the news that we get from there: they have a coalition government, and that’s the way they run it, you know. They do not really realize what kind of problems they are making. They simply utter any words they want.

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