Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani on Wednesday called on Iran’s government to push ahead with its controversial programme to enrich uranium to 20 per cent, despite being slapped with fresh UN sanctions.
“The Iranian Parliament demands that the government continues producing 20 per cent enriched uranium and not stop it at all as some countries have not adhered to the NPT (nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) and did not provide fuel for the Tehran research reactor,” Mr Larijani told Parliament. “The bullying countries must understand that their illogical pressure will be proportionately reciprocated by the level of our uranium enrichment which would depend on our needs,” he said.
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Iran Prez under fire for opposing veil crackdown
Tehran : Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad came under fire from other hardliners on Wednesday for opposing a social crackdown targeting dress and behaviour, mainly of women.
In a televised interview at the weekend, Mr Ahmadinejad said that he was “strongly against such actions. It is impossible for such actions to be successful.” A senior hardline cleric responded by accusing Mr Ahmadinejad of undermining efforts to fight “corruption.” “The President in his interview did not appreciate the sacred wave which advocates veiling and chastity and he belittled it,” Ahmad Khatami said in comments carried by the moderate Shargh newspaper on Wednesday.
By law, women in Iran must be covered from head to foot and social interaction is banned between unrelated men and women.
—AFP