Ahmadinejad: Iran forced Washington to retreat from enrichment demand
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad crowed Wednesday, April 15: “Iran’s resistance and progress in nuclear technology forced Washington to retreat from its position…” Following the suggestion that the six powers’ could waive the US demand for Iran to give up enriching uranium as a pre-condition for talks, the Iranian president said: “You know well that today you are suffering from weaknesses. You have no choice. You can’t make any progress through bullying policies. I advise to you to change and correct your tone…”
He said contemptuously that Tehran was preparing a “new package” in response to the US, Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia’s invitation to negotiations and “When it is ready we will present it to you.” debkafile‘s Iranian sources stress that Ahmadinejad was telling the six powers that Tehran was not against negotiations but only on its own terms, which would be dictated when its government was good and ready. He thus placed in its real context the formal consent to negotiations which Iran’s nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili delivered to European Union external affairs executive Javier Solana Tuesday.