Ahmadinejad Says “Too Late” to Stop Nuclear Program
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – President Ahmadinejad said Tuesday it was “too late” to stop Iran’s nuclear program and urged the West and America to abandon their “arrogant policies” of setting conditions.
Despite pressure, Iran has only become stronger, Mr. Ahmadinejad said at a news conference.
The Iranian president also appeared to dismiss ambitions of using the controversial nuclear program for weapons making.
“What is atomic bomb good for? Thoughts can’t be changed by nuclear bomb. Today is the day of thought and logic,” he said.
Washington and some of its allies fear Iran is trying to develop atomic weapons in violation of its commitments under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. Iran denies the accusations and says the treaty gives it the right to pursue uranium enrichment for peaceful purposes.
The U.N. Security Council first imposed sanctions on Iran in December and modestly increased them in March over Iran’s refusal to suspend enrichment. The council is now preparing to debate on a third round of punitive measures.
An IAEA report in May provided the potential trigger for another round of sanctions by saying Tehran continued to defy the Security Council ban on enrichment and instead was expanding its activities.
