In the past 24 hours, Iranian leaders have used uncompromising language in their standoff with the West over the nuclear issue. The hardening stance of the leadership runs counter to published reports that the country’s nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani had made some headway in his talks with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana.
Ayatollah Khamenei today told a gathering at Imam Khomeini’s mausoleum that Iran will not beg for the right to attain nuclear energy and in defending its rights the country will never retreat in the face of danger. Khamenei said Iran’s rights have to be seized with determination.
Earlier, President Ahmadinejad had vowed Iran would not back down in the standoff over its nuclear program. Ahmadinejad said the Islamic Republic was invincible in the face of Western threats.
Foreign ministry spokesman Ali Hosseini said yesterday that the third set of sanctions by UN Security Council can not possibly dissuade Iran from its nuclear course.
These statements were made days after Larijani held talks with Solana in Madrid and announced afterward that the two sides has started examining new ways to settle the nuclear issue.
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