TEHRAN, 17 July 2004 — One of Iran’s top ruling religious leaders vowed yesterday that the Islamic republic will continue to pursue its nuclear program “at any cost” and is determined to become fully self-sufficient. “Even if some officials are taking it easy on gaining the technology, the people will not give up,” Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati said in a Friday prayer sermon in Tehran.
“We are resolute. It is worth achieving it at any cost,” said Jannati, who heads the powerful Guardians Council — a body that screens all of the Islamic republic’s laws and candidates for public office.
“Nuclear technology is the issue of the day, and neither our officials nor our people will give up this scientific growth,” he said. Jannati also reasserted Iran’s desire to be independent in its bid to generate nuclear power, including in fully mastering the sensitive nuclear fuel cycle.
“We are now begging Western nuclear know-how by importing what we lack in this field. Once we achieve the technology, we will no longer be in a position where we have to ask,” he said.
Iran is currently top of the agenda for the International Atomic Energy Agency, which is probing allegations the country is using power generation as a cover for a secret weapons drive.
Tehran insists its program is solely aimed at meeting the future energy needs of a burgeoning population and freeing up its oil and gas resources for export.
Jannati, 78, has been given another six years in charge of vetting the Islamic republic’s legislation and candidates for public office, reports said. Jannati was tapped to remain head of the powerful 12-member body by Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Similar to a Senate, the Guardians Council is charged with screening all legislation passed by Parliament, and during the 2000-04 tenure of reformists the body consistently binned laws aimed at liberalizing the 25-year-old regime. The body based its decisions on the contention that the rowdy Parliament failed to respect Islamic law or the constitution in its bills.
Jannati’s team also blocked efforts by reformist President Mohammad Khatami - who is technically the regime’s No. 2 but who has been outflanked by other hardliners - to reduce the power of the Guardians Council and fellow right-wingers in the judiciary.
The Guardians Council finally managed to do away with the reformists during February’s Parliament elections, when most moderate candidates were barred from contesting the polls. In Iran, all candidates for public office are screened for their commitment to the regime.
The parliament, or Majlis, is now controlled by regime-approved conservatives. Aside from heading the Guardians Council, Jannati is also a frequent speaker at Friday prayers in Tehran — an influential post also designated by Khamenei.
Above the Guardians Council in the legislative process is the Expediency Council, designed to arbitrate in case of protracted disputes. Also controlled by conservatives, the body has mostly sided with the Guardians.
