Tehran's substitute Friday prayers leader, Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, said no other force in the region could ever rival the might of the Iranian Navy in the region. Addressing thousands of worshipers who had gathered at Tehran University's campus for the prayers, Rafsanjani pointed out that even during the days of the Iraq-imposed war, the Iranian Navy managed to provide and maintain security in the Persian Gulf the coast of which contains rich oil and gas resources, including the South Pars region, which holds 10 percent of the world's gas resources.
Commenting on nuclear issues, Rafsanjani said Iran is expected to join the club of world states owning nuclear industries soon. He emphasized that Tehran will never forsake its legal and international right to gain access to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. The substitute prayers leader further said Iran has agreed to suspend its uranium enrichment activities for a certain period of time--not to exceed six months--to assure the IAEA about the peaceful nature of its nuclear activities. "I offer the world the assurance that Tehran is not pursuing nuclear arms, but will not forsake its absolute right," he said. Describing the IAEA's recent resolution that confirmed Iran's nuclear activities have not been diverted toward a military program as a 'success', Rafsanjani referred to the threats to refer Iran's case to the UN Security Council and to impose sanctions against Tehran as examples of threats Iran has been facing in the past two years. |