Iran's leader hits back at US for 'bloody hands'

[politicaholic]

By Angus McDowall, in Tehran
Published: 02 February 2006

The President of Iran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, has angrily rounded on George Bush, saying his arms "are smeared up to the elbow in the blood of other nations".

Mr Bush referred to Iran in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night as "a nation now held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people". Mr Ahmadinejad responded by saying that Mr Bush had become President only by "spending billions of dollars and resorting to the court verdict".

--snip--

Iran says it has complied fully with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty and claims it is being bullied by Western countries who want to deny it the benefits of atomic energy. The country's head nuclear negotiator said Iran's main enrichment plant was ready for full operation in case of a referral to the Security Council. "We only need notify the IAEA that we are resuming enrichment. When we do that is our call," Ali Larijani said. "If they , we will do it quickly." The Defence Minister, Mostafa Mohammed Najar, warned: "Any aggression against Iran's nuclear facilities will trigger a very immediate and crushing response from the armed forces."
:scared:

--snip--

Some expressed fear about Washington's ultimate goals. Anis, a 17-year-old student, said: "We should be afraid of the US after seeing what they did in Iraq. They promised to help the Iraqi people but they just started a war and killed lots of people."
:nuke: