In the latest demonstration of Iran’s military capacities state TV broadcast the test-launch of a new ground-to-ground missile, the Qiyam (Resurrection)-1 on Friday.
Iran did not disclose the range of the missile, but Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said it had a range of new technical characteristics with high tactical capability.
This is a surface to surface missile. It does not have small directional wings, which give it tactical superiority. It has it’s own tracking and targeting, and can avoid being targeted by counter-missile systems, Defence Minister Ahmad Vahidi said.
Iran would stop higher-grade enrichment if it is assured of nuclear fuel supplies for a research reactor, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in a Japanese newspaper on Friday.
Published on the eve of the inauguration of Iran’s first nuclear power plant, Ahmadinejad’s comments appeared to signal possible willingness to compromise on a key concern for the West regarding the Islamic Republic’s nuclear programme.

Iran Launches New Ground-to-ground Missile was first posted on August 20, 2010 at 9:58 pm.
Copyright @ A Pakistan News.Com

TEHRAN: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called on U.S. President Barack Obama on Monday to face him in a televised one-on-one debate to see who has the best solutions for the world’s problems.

Ahmadinejad Calls for Debate With Obama was first posted on August 2, 2010 at 4:18 pm.
Copyright @ A Pakistan News.Com

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad asserted that the Sept 11 attacks on US World Trade Centre and Pentagon a ‘big lie’ which was used by the US as an excuse for the war on terror.

Ahmadinejad, while addressing the Intelligence Ministry staff, said “September 11 was a big lie and a pretext for the war on terror and a prelude to invading Afghanistan,” calling the attacks a “complicated intelligence scenario and act.” Ahmadinejad also questioned US claims that the death toll reached 3,000 saying that the Americans never published the names of those who died.

Back in 2007, New York officials have rejected the Iran leader’s request to visit the World Trade Center during his NY visit for a UN meeting.

TEHRAN: Iran said that it was ready to send its uranium abroad for further enrichment as requested by the UN. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced the decision in an interview with state Iranian television.
He said Iran will have “no problem” giving the West its low-enriched uranium and taking it back several months later when it is enriched by 20 percent. The decision could signal a major shift in the Iranian position on the issue. Still, it was unclear how much of a concession the Ahmadinejad comments represented, even though he appeared to be saying for the first time that Iran was willing to ship out its enriched uranium and wait for it to be returned in the form of fuel for its Tehran research reactor. But his time frame of four or five months appeared to fall short of the year that Western officials say it would take for Iran’s enriched fuel to be turned into fuel rods for the reactor.
If that difference cannot be bridged, it could allow Iranian officials to assert that the deal failed due to Western foot-dragging, despite their readiness to accept the proposed formula of shipping out the bulk of their enriched uranium and waiting for it to be converted and returned as fuel.
Ahmadinejad also did not address whether his country was ready to ship out most of its stockpile in one batch — another condition set by the six world powers endorsing the fuel swap. If Iran were to agree to export most of its enriched uranium in one shipment, it would delay its ability to make a nuclear weapon by stripping it of the material it needs to make the fissile core of a warhead.

TEHRAN : New Uranium Units Not to Confront IAEA: President Ahmadinejad, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday that Iran’s plan to build 10 new uranium enrichment plants was not aimed at confronting the UN atomic watchdog, which censured Tehran last month.

He also said Iran will continue to build the new plants, adding that sites for five of the 10 units had been finalised.

“The news that we announced (about the new plants) was not to confront the board of the agency, as we had assigned the (Iranian) atomic energy organisation to locate several sites (for the new plants) months ago,” the state television website quoted him as saying.

“We recently even asked them (Iran’s atomic agency) about the delay” in identifying the sites, Ahmadinejad said, adding that Iran has always “acted on its decisions, which are definite.”

Soon after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) condemned Iran for building its second uranium enrichment plant late last month, Ahmadinejad announced his government’s decision to build 10 new plants.

Iranian Vice President and atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi said at the time that the plan to build the new plants was a response to the IAEA decision.

“The decision taken today is a firm reply to the indecent move by the five-plus-one in the latest IAEA meeting,” Salehi said on November 29, refering to the six world powers comprising the permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany who backed the IAEA resolution.

Ahmadinejad urges US Obama to see Iran as a friend, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad urged President Barack Obama to see Iran as a potential friend instead of a threat ahead of addresses both leaders will give to the United Nations General Assembly on Wednesday.

The Iranian leader also said in an interview Tuesday that he expects “free and open” discussion of nuclear issues at a meeting next week with six world powers, but stressed that his country would not negotiate on its own nuclear plans.

He sought to open a wider nuclear dialogue with the West, and said the onus should be on the United States and other major nuclear powers to give up their weapons and to expand opportunities for all countries to make peaceful use of nuclear power.

Speaking to reporters and editors just hours after arriving in the United States, Ahmadinejad said he will seek a quick resolution to the case of three American hikers jailed in Iran.

He dismissed last week’s U.S. shift away from a planned long-range missile shield in Europe, meant to guard against an Iranian strike, as “a respectful way of buying out” Russian objections.

“I heard Mr. Obama saying the next threat is Iran. Iran is an opportunity for everyone,” Ahmadinejad said.

The Iranian leader said Obama is not the first U.S. president to believe Iran is a threat and said the president should read up on history “to see what the fate is of viewing these problems from this perspective.”

“Historically, whoever made friends with Iran saw a lot of opportunities,” Ahmadinejad said.

He reiterated explicitly that Iran is not building nuclear weapons.

“I hope that Mr. Obama will move in the direction of change,” Ahmadinejad said. At another point he said, “The sources of insecurity around the world need to be discussed.”

UN: Iran’s president has launched a scathing attack on Western powers, accusing them of spreading “war, bloodshed and terror” in the Middle East and Afghanistan.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Tehran was prepared to warmly shake all those hands which are honestly extended to us.

But he accused the West of hypocrisy, saying it preached democracy but violated its fundamental principles.

Already speaking to a half-empty chamber, his attacks on the US and its allies – including Israel’s barbaric attack on the Gaza Strip, its inhuman policies in the Palestinian territories and its domination of world political and economic affairs – prompted a walkout by the US delegation.

MUMBAI: Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Sunday said his country was not responsible for terrorist activities in Pakistan’s Balochistan.

Addressing a press conference here, he said the allegations to this effect were “totally wrong”.

“We are not exporting terrorism to Pakistan or any other country,” he said. “The people and government of Pakistan jolly well know that this is a false accusation.”

Manmohan Singh also demanded that Pakistan should try and punish those who masterminded the Mumbai terror attack last year.

The Prime Minister told reporters that diplomatic pressure from India and the international community had forced Pakistan to admit for the first time that its nationals were involved in the terror assault that killed some 170 people.

“They should investigate all those who are involved including Hafiz Saeed, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. There should be a fair trial which will result in proper punishment being given to them. We have not lost hope.”

TEHRAN: The president of Iran says failure of upcoming nuclear talks would hurt the West more than Iran.

Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says October 19th conference in Vienna will be a test for additional “fruitful” work on the issue of Iran’s nuclear program.

Western nations are continuing to urge Iran to curtail any nuclear efforts toward weaponry.

Sanctions have already been imposed on Iran, and there’s talk of stiffer measures if Tehran doesn’t abandon disputed elements of its nuclear program.

Iran has insisted its nuclear efforts are geared solely toward energy production.