A former top Iranian nuclear negotiator yesterday criticized a remark by U.S. President-elect Barack Obama on the Middle Eastern state's atomic program, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, Nov. 11).
The United States and other Western nations have expressed concern that certain Iranian atomic activities could support nuclear weapon development, but Tehran insists its nuclear program is strictly peaceful. Obama recently called a nuclear-armed Iran "unacceptable" and vowed to pursue a program of incentives and penalties aimed at "changing their calculus about how they want to operate."
Ali Larijani, formerly Tehran's lead nuclear envoy and now the Iranian parliament speaker, responded: "These comments resemble those of old American cowboys. If you have something to say about (Iran's) nuclear issue, just say so. Why wave a stick?"
"The new U.S. president has said he wants to pressure Iran since it seeks to produce atomic weapons and because it supports the terrorists like Hamas and Hezbollah," Larijani added in a speech to an Iranian audience. "We are proud of supporting Hezbollah since they are defending their homeland and you are wrong in calling them terrorists" (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Dec. 11).