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26 May 2009 Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
said on Monday he is ready to hold a debate at the
United Nations with his US counterpart Barack Obama on
global issues.
Ahmadinejad said at a news conference he had invited
former US President George Bush for a debate and if
elected again as Iran's president next month, he will
"extend the invitation" to Obama.
The Iranian President said that the Islamic republic
will not hold nuclear talks with the group of world
powers known as 5-plus-1. "The nuclear issue is over
for us. The talks outside the IAEA (International
Atomic Energy Association) will only be about
participation in the management of the world and
bringing peace to the world," he said.
"We have said this before and we are saying it right
now, that we will not talk about the nuclear issue
with those outside the IAEA. The Iranian nation will
not allow anyone outside the IAEA to discuss our
nuclear issue."
Obama Orders Update to Iran Attack
Plan
On NBC’s Today Show this morning, Secretary of Defense
Robert Gates said that President Obama has ordered him
to update the plans for a US attack on Iran, plans
which were last updating during the Bush
Administration. Gates says the plans are “refreshed”
and insists that “all options are on the table” with
respect to the potential attack.
It was only a month ago that Secretary Gates was
warning vigorously against the potential attack,
saying that it would create a “disastrous backlash”
against the United States to hit Iran’s civilian
nuclear facilities. The Obama Administration has
insisted it is intending to pursue the matter
diplomatically with Iran, but Secretary of State
Hillary Clinton has repeatedly said the administration
doesn’t expect diplomacy to work, and the effort seems
to be primarily to rally international support for
more measures against Iran.
The US has also been sending secret missions to Israel
in recent days, reportedly to caution them against
launching any surprise military attacks against Iran
of their own. It was unclear how successful the
warnings were: Prime Minister Netanyahu said he
remained confident that the US would respect Israel’s
right to attack Iran.
It is unclear whether Gates’ revelation portends a
serious potential for an imminent US attack on Iran,
or whether the move is more international posturing.
Still, it seems unlikely the news will be greeted
warmly in Iran, which is in the middle of an election
campaign in which potential US talks are a major
issue.
EsinIslam.Com
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