By EDITH M. LEDERER, Associated Press Writer 6 minutes ago


UNITED NATIONS - Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Tuesday that Iran's disputed nuclear program is closed as a political issue and said Tehran will ignore a U.N. Security Council demand imposed by "arrogant powers" to curb its nuclear program.
Instead, he told world leaders at the U.N. General Assembly that Iran has decided to pursue the monitoring of its nuclear program "through its appropriate legal path," the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency.
When Ahmadinejad was ushered to the podium, the U.S. delegation walked out, leaving only a low-ranking note-taker to listen to his speech, which indirectly accused the United States and Israel of major human rights violations. State Department spokesman Gonzalo Gallegos said the U.S. wanted "to send him a powerful message."
The Iranian president spoke shortly before German Chancellor Angela Merkel warned the diplomats of "disastrous consequences" for Israel and the world if Iran acquires a nuclear bomb. "The world does not have to prove to Iran that Iran is building a nuclear bomb. Iran has to convince the world that it is not striving towards such a bomb."
Hours earlier, French President Nicolas Sarkozy told the assembly that allowing Iran to arm itself with nuclear weapons would be an unacceptable risk. "There will not be peace in the world if the international community falters in the face of the proliferation of nuclear arms," Sarkozy said. The Iranian crisis "will only be resolved if firmness and dialogue go hand-in-hand."
Iran insists the program is purely peaceful, aimed solely at using nuclear reactors to generate electricity. But the United States and key European nations believe the program is a cover for an Iranian attempt to produce nuclear weapons.
Ahmadinejad has defied two Security Council resolutions demanding Iran suspend enrichment and imposing escalating sanctions on key figures and organizations involved in the nuclear program. He made clear in his speech that Iran did not intend to comply with them now.
"In the last two years, abusing the Security Council, the arrogant powers have repeatedly accused Iran and even made military threats and imposed illegal sanctions against it," he said.
"Previously, they illegally insisted on politicizing the Iranian nation's nuclear case, but today, because of the resistance of the Iranian nation, the issue is back to the agency, and I officially announce that in our opinion the nuclear issue of Iran is now closed and has turned into an ordinary agency matter," Ahmadinejad said.
Iran has decided "to pursue the issue through its appropriate legal path ... and to disregard unlawful and political impositions by the arrogant powers," he said.
IAEA chief Mohamed ElBaradei and Iranian officials agreed in July that Tehran would answer questions from agency experts by December on more than two decades of nuclear activity — most of it secret until revealed over four years ago.
This week, IAEA technical officials returned to Tehran to to start probing outstanding questions, some with possible weapons applications. But while Iran is allowing the IAEA to inspect its known nuclear facilities, it no longer allows inspectors freedom to look elsewhere for suspicious activities on short notice as it once did.
The U.S. initially opposed the plan, fearing it could draw attention away from Iran's defiance of the Security Council demand for a halt to Iranian uranium enrichment. It later endorsed the plan while emphasizing that must obey the council.
A third Security Council resolution, with tougher sanctions, is being discussed. President Bush has refused to take military action off the table if Iran does not comply.
Speaking to reporters later, Ahmadinejad attempted to clarify Tehran's stance.
"It's closed as a political issue," he said, stressing that it is a legal issue "and therefore should have been examined solely within the framework of the IAEA."
"However, certain big powers ... have made every effort to turn a simple legal issue into a very loud, controversial, political issue," he said.

Iran was not without allies. Nicaragua's leftist President Daniel Ortega angrily chastised the U.S. for seeking to stop other countries from enriching uranium, which is allowed under the Nonproliferation Treaty.
Ortega said the United States, as "the only country in the world to have dropped nuclear bombs on innocent people," had no right to question the right of Iran and North Korea to pursue nuclear technology for "peaceful purposes."
Earlier in the assembly's opening session, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon pledged to push for lasting peace in the Middle East and an end to the conflict in Sudan's Darfur region in the coming year, calling it one of the most challenging in the U.N.'s history.
Bush spoke next and announced new sanctions against Myanmar's military dictatorship, accusing it of imposing "a 19-year reign of fear" that denies basic freedoms of speech, assembly and worship. But Bush barely mentioned Iran, a nation he also accuses of helping insurgents who are killing U.S. troops in Iraq.
Amadinejad, whose speech at Columbia University on Monday provoked protests, was in the General Assembly chamber for Bush's speech. A U.N. diplomat in the chamber said the Iranian president listened to the secretary-general but pulled out his earpiece before Bush started to speak.
Asked about the protests and tough questions he faced at Columbia, Ahmadinejad told a press conference late Tuesday that he didn't find it to be difficult.
"I speak of my opinions and say what I need to say and others speak of theirs. After all, we are patient enough to listen to what even groups that are hostile to us say."
In his General Assembly speech, the Iranian leader lashed out at "certain powers" — an apparent reference to the United States and Israel — that violate human rights by setting up secret prisons, abducting people, holding trials and enacting secret punishments without any regard to due process, tapping phone conversations and intercepting people's private mail.
"They use various pretexts to occupy sovereign states and cause insecurity and division, and then use the prevailing situation as an excuse to continue their occupation," the Iranian president said.
He then described how the Palestinian and Iraqi peoples have suffered under occupying forces. Referring to the U.S. government's policy on Iraq, he said: "They even oppose the constitution, National Assembly and the government established by the vote of the people, while they do not even have the courage to declare their defeat and exit Iraq."
"In their view, human rights are tantamount to profits for their companies and friends. The rights and dignity of American people are also being sacrificed for the selfish desires of those holding power," he told the assembly.
Former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Fox News that Ahmadinejad should not have been invited to address the General Assembly. "Ahmadinejad is expanding a fanatic doctrine of genocide. He is developing nuclear weapons to achieve it," he said.

I listened to this 'guy' on a Charlie Rose interview for 1 hr today---the guy is a 'fox!' He smiles and says we are everybody's friend, etc. and could be in the middle-east market as a used-camel salesman!! Anybody that would trust him is a big-time sucker and buyer of his used, 'lemon' camels!!
Buyer BEWARE!!

Im thinking: He had the strength to stand up in front of a college and ask questions that were not censored. But goes in front of the selected military, with selected scripted questions.
When Chavez stood in NYC and called Bush the Devil, and Bush did nothing. When Cindy Shehan requested to speak with bush again, to answer questions that arrose after her first meeting.
Bush refuses to get infront of a real audience and answer real questions. Is he that lame?

That's NOT strength! He is a sociopath, seen badgering the U.S. hostages many years ago, got to his position by being a 'henchman' (guess Saddam is a hero too!) and has the Arab gift of lying with a straight face! You got suckered in, hrdman!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I listened to him as well and it was apparent he's full of something more then ####!

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And you voted for Bush,,,,,,twice.......who's suckered.

...you mean the 'former Governor' of YOUR state!! Ha ha...just another sore loser!

You make it sound like Bush getting elected twice was a good thing. LOLOL. Wake up man. Youve been brainwashed. There is medication for that. Have you forgotten that Bush tried his best to get the Mexicans over here to take your job. Support that!!!

^%^%^%&&&^$^$&, he makes me madder than a fruit fly in a jar with no holes in the lid. PHEW. Here are some more of my thoughts on Iran: French President Says Nuclear Iran 'Unacceptable'. I say we cannot accept their lies and drivel. They are sitting on enormous supplies of oil and WHY do they need nuclear power? Because they are full of #### and we all know it.

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Apathy elected Obama, not me! -- WiseOne

People piss me off, stop it! -- WiseOne

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OH Wiseone. I understand your powers as owners of this forum, and do not wish to insult your intelligence. But may I remind you that Iran has nothing But Oil. That is basically their only commodity. They use that as bargaining power for things that their country needs to survive. They use that oil to pay for (from Wikipedia): [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. as percent of total budget was 6% for [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. , 16% for [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. and 8% for the [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. in the period 1992-2000 and contributed to an average annual [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. rate of 14 percent in the period 2000-2004, although some unofficial estimates place the figure above 20 percent today.[LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. Iranian [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. have been a chronic problem, in part due to [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. totaling more than $40 billion per year (2006), including foodstuffs and especially [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. .[LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link.

In the USA, we trade with most countries. Even with the sanctions against Iraq, private, American corperations still done business in Iraq. And our government has allowed this to happen. Example: As CEO of Halliburton, Mr. Cheney lobbied the Clinton administration to ease sanctions on Libya and Iran, according to various news reports. "I think we'd be better off if we, in fact, backed off those sanctions [on Iran], didn't try to impose secondary boycotts on companies .. trying to do business there," Cheney [LINK POSTED BY MEMBER] Only Members Can View This Truck Forum Link. an Australian television interviewer in April 1998.3
Irans major source of income is oil. So using Nuclear power is something that can use in lue of Oil to preserve their economic stablility in the world.
Please do not think that I support Iran for any reason. Though I do not believe the Bush Administration or it's media outlets and stories about iran. I still don't know the true facts. And I believe that neither of us really know the truths. From time to time, most of us admit that the media is biased and lies on a regualr basis.
Keep this in mind. The majority of the people in Iran, do not like their leader as much or more than Americans.
And as far as the French go, they were the first ones by our side when we went into Afganistan to capture Osama. And we only lost their support when we went to Iraq.