Ahmadinejad gives 'victory speech' before masses

In speech before thousands in city of Ardabil, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says 'Iranian people will force the powers to surrender. The stances in favor of the US and Israel harmed the Security Council's image'

Roee Nahmias|Published: 08.15.06 , 17:37

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad carried a "victory speech" before a crowd in the city of Ardabel, and sent his congratulations to "the resistance" (Hizbullah) and to the "free Lebanese people for the major victory it obtained."

He spoke about the plan for "a new Middle East" and said that the United States "is interested in turning the Middle East into its property and not a free Middle East. What the nations of the area want is a free Middle East and that is the difference."

"The Iranian people is a strong people that won't surrender to force. We are a nation that supports dialogue, but we won't surrender to force," he said.

Ahmadinejad said there were examples for the kind of Middle East that the United States wanted – Iraq, Afghanistan, and now Lebanon.

"The problem in Lebanon did not end with the obtaining of a ceasefire. A holding of account with Israel must be held and with those who stood at its side. The stance of America and Israel harmed the image of the Security Council. The two don't have the right to be members of the Security Council," said the Iranian president. He added that "the nations of the area demand a Middle East clean from the American-British hegemony."

Regarding the nuclear issue, Ahmadinejad said that UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan called him and spoke with him about the Security Council's decision that gives Iran an extension to the end of the month of August.

"You are committed to this date and an answer must be given by August 31," said Annan. Ahmadinejad replied by saying that "those two (US and Israel) are harming the Security Council and they turned it into a service tool in their hands to as they please."

He added that the message of the Iranian people to the Security Council is that Iran won't surrender to force. "Those who want to take away from us what we have reached in the nuclear field must respect this nation and not force dictates on it because he will lose crushingly."

'We won't give up on Iranian enrichment'

Ahmadinejad said that "the Security Council has no legitimacy. I told Annan – it seems they don't want to solve the problems and they want to create tensions. If so – very good. They can do what they want and we will do what we want. We will give our answer at a time that we find fit. We are a nation that respects the law, we have a certain view of things and we will declare it in the future. I told Annan that our opinion is based on the legitimate guarding of the rights of the Iranian people."

"Iran obtained technology that allows it to create nuclear fuel. The Iranian nation supports the law, but won't give up its right for nuclear enrichment for peaceful purposes," he added. Earlier, he claimed that "Hizbullah won in the war in Lebanon due to their belief and the divine help they received."

"Since they rose and acted for the sake of Allah, Allah also helped them," he said.

Since the night hours thousands of Iranians have been celebrating what they claimed was a Shiite and Hizbullah victory over the "Zionist regime."

Worshippers across Iran used the evening prayers at mosque to bless the Lebanese nation and the "Hizbullah victory." In marches to mosques, calls were heard of "Allah is great, Khamenei is the leader," "Lebanon won with the help of Hizbullah," "Lebanon is the winner, Israel is destroyed," "in the end Hizbullah won."