Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the US leader will miss a historic opportunity for improved cooperation from Tehran if the offer is rejected.
The remarks came just a day after US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Tehran’s offer — submitted Monday to the UN nuclear watchdog — was inadequate and did not address international concerns about Iran’s atomic ambitions. Washington has denounced the Iranian proposal, brokered last week by Brazil and Turkey, as an attempt by Tehran to avoid a new round of UN sanctions over its controversial nuclear program, which the West fears is geared toward nuclear weapons.
“There are people in the world who want to pit Mr. Obama against the Iranian nation and bring him to the point of no return, where the path to his friendship with Iran will be blocked forever,” Ahmadinejad said during a rally in the southern town of Kerman.
Ahmadinejad also issued a stern warning to Russia, saying Moscow’s support for the US-led push for new UN sanctions against Iran was contrary to the two countries’ neighborly and friendly relations.
Iran proposed last week to ship much of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in return for nuclear fuel rods needed for a Tehran medical research reactor. The swap would diminish Iran’s stockpile of low-enriched uranium that can possibly be used in making atomic bombs, if the uranium is enriched to a higher, weapons-grade level.
“If they (US and its allies) are truthful when they say they seek cooperation ... they should accept this offer,” Ahmadinejad said. “But if they seek excuses, they should know that the path to any interaction will be closed.” “Mr. Obama must know that this proposal is a historic opportunity ... (Obama should) know that if this opportunity is lost, I doubt the Iranian nation will give a new chance to this gentleman in the future,” he added.
Like the UN-backed plan, Tehran’s proposal would commit Iran to shipping 1,200 kg of low-enriched uranium for storage abroad — in this case to Turkey. In exchange, Iran would get the higher-enriched uranium fuel rods within one year.
Ahmadinejad on Wednesday also singled out Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, saying the neighboring country’s leader had caved in to US pressure for new sanctions on Tehran.
“Justifying the behavior of Mr. Medvedev today has become very difficult,” he said. “The Iranian nation doesn’t know whether (Russians) ultimately are friends, whether they stand by us or are after other things. This is not acceptable.”
The unusually harsh words for Russia reflect a strain in Tehran’s relations with Moscow, a longtime trade partner of Iran with more leverage over it than Western nations. Ahmadinejad said Moscow had no excuse for giving in to US pressure, and urged Medvedev to change his stance.
“I hope Russian leaders and officials pay attention to these sincere words and correct themselves, and not let the Iranian nation consider them among its enemies,” he said.
Ahmadinejad warned the reactor is running out of fuel, and stressed that the IAEA has a responsibility to supply nuclear fuel needed by member countries.
