Iran Rules Out Talks With ‘Bombs Over Our Head’
Iran’s president, who has won the support of Muslim nations for his country’s nuclear program, said Saturday that he was willing to hold talks about the issue but not with Israel or countries that hold “bombs over our head.”
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he had cooperated fully with the United Nations nuclear agency, and the world had nothing to fear from his program to produce enriched uranium, which can be used for generating electricity or in making atomic weapons.
The hard-line leader spoke after meeting with heads of state and government from Indonesia, Pakistan, Nigeria, Turkey and Malaysia and ministers from Egypt and Bangladesh.
He received a boost from the Muslim leaders, who released a statement after their D-8 summit of developing nations supporting the rights of countries to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
Later, Indonesian Energy Minister Purnomo Yusgiantoro said his country planned to build its first major nuclear power plant by 2015 and had been offered assistance by companies from South Korea, Japan, France and an unspecified fourth country.
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