Iran Will Not Retreat From 20% Uranium Enrichment: Khatami

Tehran, May 26, IRNA – Iran will not retreat from 20 percent uranium enrichment, Tehran’s interim Friday Prayer Leader Hojjatoleslam Seyed Ahmad Khatami said here Friday. In his second sermon of this week's Friday prayers of the capital city, the cleric noted that westerners have not been bound to their promises in the past. “Peaceful nuclear energy is the right of all nations in the world including Iran; IAEA inspectors have repeatedly visited Iranian nuclear sites but they couldn’t find any evidence which shows a deviation; it is time for the West to acquire the trust of the Iranian nation,” he noted. Khatami also voiced hope that the first presidential election of Egypt would result in the establishment of an Islamist, anti-Zionist regime in this region. Referring to the crackdowns on peaceful protesters in Bahrain, the interim Tehran Friday prayers leader underscored that the Bahraini nation will stand against any plan which undermines the sovereignty of their country, including the reactionary Bahrain-Saudi Arabia unity plan. Khatami has also warned Azerbaijan Republic's government, noting that the Azerbaijani officials should care about the Islamic culture of their people and their relations with the occupying force of Zionist regime; Azerbaijani officials should take a lesson from the ousted regional dictators, including the Tunisian Dictator Zein al-Abidin Ben Ali. He pointed also to a singer who had derided the 10th Imam of Shi'a Muslims, Imam Ali al-Naghi (P), adding that the evil singer did the job to make happy the enemies of Islam but it failed to break the holiness of this Imam (P) and made Shi'a Muslims more vigilant about their religious leaders. In case of recent nuclear talks between Iran and G5+1, it should be noted that Secretary of Supreme National Security Council of Iran (SNSCI), Saeed Jalili had two-day intensive talks with the G5+1, headed by the EU Foreign Policy Chief, Catherine Ashton, on Iran nuclear issue. EU foreign policy chief, who headed the delegations of the six world powers in negotiations with Tehran, announced in the joint press conference with Jalili that the two sides made progress and held positive talks in Baghdad on Wednesday and Thursday. Secretary of Supreme National Security Council of Iran also said on Thursday that the Tehran-G5+1 talks were held in a good atmosphere. The Baghdad meeting came after Iran and the six world powers resumed talks in Istanbul, Turkey, last month and agreed to meet again in the Iraqi capital on May 23. The two sides are due to continue their negotiations in the Russian capital, Moscow, on June 18 and 19. Furthermore, in case of the ongoing regional Islamic Awakening, it is important to know that since the beginning of 2011, the Muslim world has witnessed popular uprisings and revolutions similar to what happened in Iran in 1979. Tunisia saw the overthrow of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in a popular revolution in January, which was soon followed by a revolution which toppled Hosni Mubarak in Egypt in February. Bahrain, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Saudi Arabia and Yemen have since been the scene of protests against their totalitarian rulers, who have resorted to brutal crackdown on demonstrations to silence their critics. Bahrain however, has experienced the deadliest clashes. Anti-government protesters have been holding peaceful demonstrations across Bahrain since mid-February, calling for an end to the Al Khalifa dynasty's over-40-year rule./end