Ahmadinejad: Iran to continue nuclear program despite sanctions and economic crisis

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivered a speech in Tehran broadcast by state television, saying that despite economic pressures and Western sanctions, Iran will not back down on its nuclear program.

"If some think they can put pressure on Iran, they are wrong. We are not people who will give up on the nuclear issue," Ahmadinejad said.

"The enemy has imposed sanctions against oil sales. However, a large part of our foreign currency revenues, is from oil. Worse, (the enemy imposed) sanctions against the Central Bank and if we sell oil, we can't repatriate the money," he added.

Speaking of the effects of the international sanctions, Ahmadinejad has dismissed rumors of economic downturn in the Islamic Republic, saying the country is facing a tough economic and psychological war waged by the West.

Ahmadinejad said: "There is no economic reason for these fluctuations. The enemy threw a stone on our path, we must refer it back," said the Iranian president. "We have (foreign currency) reserves in an amount necessary for the country," he added.

"This is psychological warfare. Everyone must help the government. Sanctions target the people.The Western powers lie when they say, they are acting against the government," he said.

However, Ahmadinejad's comments came amid an accelerated slide in Iran's currency. The Iranian currency has lost about a quarter of its value in the past week. The rial has dropped steeply in the past nine months because of new Western economic sanctions imposed over Iran's disputed nuclear program.

It is worth mentioning that the sanctions came into force in early summer 2012 as the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil, and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.

Referring to the statement of Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu's in the U.N. General Assembly last week. Ahmadinejad commented on it: "We are not worried fby the Israeli threats to carry out military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities."

"Iran is not a country that can be shaken with, let's say, firecrackers. Israel has no roots in the history of the Middle East and represents a disturbance for Iran and they are then eliminated, he repeated what he has already said at the United Nations," he added.

Opinion:

The speech of the Iranian president indicates that there are real crisis experienced by the Iranian people as a result of Western sanctions imposed on the Iranian government. At the same time, we should not be optimistic that these sanctions will be successful in forcing the Iranian people to stand up against their government so as to stop its nuclear program. The reason being that Iranians get united and provide support to their leadership when they feel external pressure.

Iran today is in global isolation and on top of that Western countries put pressure on China and Russia to stop their dependence on Iranian oil. The question is whether the Western countries will succeed in convincing them to do so? What will the reward be if they stop dealing with Tehran?.

It's worth mentioning that Iran has long experience in dealing with crises, either political or economical, since the success of its revolution, which toppled the shah. We've heard, since 1980, that Iran collapsed in every field, however Iran has defied the international community with its nuclear program in terms of which the West couldn't find an answer to Iran's question: Why is Iran not allowed to use nuclear technology, and why allow Israel to be the only country with nuclear weapons in the Middle East?

I think that Iran may have exceeded Netanyahu's red line, as his country, Israel, previously exceeded all red lines. Therefore, the international community has to find a way other than political and economical sanctions that harm people, not governments.

Its good to remember that, the Iran-Iraq war lasted for years and that many countries, including Western countries, were betting on the demise of the regime in Tehran. However Saddam Hussein's regime fell and Iran remained. This happened despite the unlimited support of the Western and most Arab countries for the regime of Saddam during that war.

I wish that the resolutions of the United Nations and the international community were respected by all human beings, but to apply sanctions on certain people and leave other countries to play and destroy the fate of other people with no objection -- this is simply called dictatorship and injustice. No one will accept living all his life oppressed.

Sources:

http://www.almanar.com.lb/english/adetails.php?eid=70460&cid=23&fromval=1&frid=23&seccatid=32&s1=1

http://tribune.com.pk/story/446238/iran-says-will-not-retreat-on-nuclear-issue-despite-woes/