Iran will never give up its nuclear right: Cleric

Rasa - A senior Iranian cleric has reiterated that the Islamic Republic will never give up its right to peaceful nuclear energy.

News ID: 775

Date: 12 April 2014 - 06:08

Rasa News Agency reports - “The Iranian nation is entitled to [use] peaceful nuclear energy and as the Leader of the Islamic Revolution [Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei] said, it will never be possible to back down [from this right],” Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani said in his sermon to worshippers at Friday Prayers in Tehran.

“It is the right of the nation and [the nuclear energy program] must go ahead in all dimensions and directions,” the Iranian cleric stated.

On April 9, Ayatollah Khamenei said, “Everybody should know that although negotiations [between Iran and world powers] are going on, the Islamic Republic of Iran’s activities in the field of nuclear research and development will never stop and none of Iran’s nuclear achievements will be shut down.”

Emami Kashani also dismissed as “invalid” a recent resolution adopted by the European Parliament against the Islamic Republic over its human rights record.

“This resolution stems from their arrogant nature and it is of no value,” the Iranian cleric stated, adding that the resolution indicates the enmity of its proponents to Iran and its Islamic culture.

The anti-Iran resolution, which was adopted on April 3, expresses concern over the alleged violation of human rights in the Islamic Republic.

It also claims that Iran’s presidential election in June 2013, which was marked by a high voter turnout and led to the victory of President Hassan Rouhani, was “not held according to the democratic standards valued by the European Union.”

Tehran has dismissed the resolution as unrealistic and counterproductive at a time when the Islamic Republic and the European Union have taken the initial steps to resolve issues relevant to mutual relations.