Iranian President: Israel trying to occupy Lebanon
Ahamdinejad says Israel is trying to occupy Lebanon after it failed to stop Iran's nuclear program: 'Israel allows itself to attack for any excuse'
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that "the Zionist government went too far and wants occupy Lebanon after failing to pressure Iran on the nuclear issue."
"They thought that occupying Lebanon is the easy part and this can open the door for more occupations, but they miscalculated yet again," the IRNA news agency quoted Ahmadinajad, who spoke in Tehran.
He accused Israel of using any excuse to attack and occupy, destroy infrastructure and "sow terror."
Ahmadinejad denied the occurence of the Holocaust and said it was an excuse to allow western nations to have more influence in the region.
'Peaceful nuclear technology'
He said if the Holocaust did in fact happen, those who committed it should pay the price and not others.
"Why do you say that six million people died in the Holocaust? Check this number - maybe it was 10 million…the fact that you do not allow this to be checked is problematic," he said.
Ahmadinejad spoke of Iran's talks with western nations over its nuclear program: "The Americans should not try to deal with problems unneccesarily. We will speak with the Europeans and move forward with them."
"If a problem emerges, it will be everyone's problem. It is our legitimate right to enrich uranium. We are ready for negotiations and are saying to those concerned that our policy is to use nuclear power for peaceful purposes in the frame of cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency and based on its decisions," he said.
He concluded his speech by addressing the upcoming anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing. "Our enemies tell us: "You are forbidden from acquiring nuclear technology for peaceful purposes because you can use it inappropriately, when they used this technology in such a manner in the past," he said of the United States.
