Iran Nuclear Watch: Ahmadinejad – Iran Has “Mastered” the Nuclear Cycle

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivers a speech south of Tehran, May 18, 2006. World powers meet in London on Wednesday to discuss a package of incentives and threats drafted by European countries aimed at defusing a crisis over Iran’s nuclear program.

Forex News: Iran promises ‘historic slap’ to any attacker; has ‘mastered nuclear cycle

Iran’s hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad boasted Wednesday that the Islamic republic had mastered the entire nuclear fuel cycle and that it would give an “historic slap” to any attacker.

“Today, Iran has mastered the entire nuclear fuel cycle, from start to finish, thanks to young Iranian scientists,” the president said in a speech in the southwestern border town of Khorramshahr.

“The enemies are looking to plot and want to create differences among Iranians to stop us getting our rights,” Ahmadinejad said.

“But if they do the slightest damage to the Iranian people, if they commit the slightest aggression, they will receive an historic slap.”

The president was speaking during commemorations of the 1982 recapture from Iraqi forces of Khorramshahr, one of the bloodiest battles of the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.

As usual Ahmadinejad is mastering the western media news cycle.

Nothing NEW here.

Meanwhile, in London……

Reuters: World powers meet to discuss Iran nuclear offer

World powers meet in London on Wednesday to discuss a package of incentives and threats drafted by European countries aimed at defusing a crisis over Iran’s nuclear program.

Iran’s president, however, dampened hopes of any progress by insisting on Iran’s right to a full range of nuclear technology and Britain said it did not expect the meeting to achieve a breakthrough.

Senior officials from UN Security Council permanent members China, Russia, the United States, France and Britain, plus Germany, will try to narrow divisions over how to proceed to persuade Tehran to halt its uranium enrichment work.

“(The officials) are not really anticipating that today will be the final meeting,” British Foreign Secretary Margaret Beckett told reporters. “It will be a key meeting today but I suspect it won’t be the final meeting.”

Iran has already stated time after time that they will NOT accept any package of incentives and that uranium enrichment is their right.

This meeting is POINTLESS.

One EU diplomat said it was hard to see what the meeting, due to start later on Wednesday, could achieve.

“It’s really just an academic exercise, since the Iranians have made it clear that they won’t accept any offer.”

And there continue to be FOOLS who think Iran can be engaged and issues can be negotiated.

So: conservatives are fully in charge; their nuclear program gives them some negotiating leverage; they don’t want sanctions to be imposed; and the Iranian public is in favor of closer ties with the U.S. On our side, we want them to commit to ending their nuclear program; we don’t want their oil exports cut off; we desperately need more stability in the Middle East; and the Bush administration has successfully forced them to make the first move.

Sounds like there’s some basis for discussion there. It might work, it might not. But it’s foolish not to try.

Wahsington Post: Iran Requests Direct Talks on Nuclear Program

Listen up!

Iran doesn’t want to dance. They don’t want to negotiate. Ahmadinejad and the Mullahs want a nuclear weapon(s).
Stay tuned……