June 11 (Bloomberg) — George W. Bush’s administration is in its dying days and won’t be able to harm Iran, the Islamic Republic’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, said.
“It’s Bush’s dream to harm Iran’s nation,” Ahmadinejad said today during a televised speech in the western Iranian city of Shahre Kord. ``You thought you would be able to do something but your term came to an end and you will not be capable of harming even 1 centimeter of Iran’s sacred land.”
The U.S. has led the push for international sanctions to punish Iran for flouting United Nations demands for a halt to its nuclear program. The U.S. has accused Iran of seeking to build an atomic weapon, while Ahmadinejad’s government says the work is designed to fuel power stations.
( Didn’t Bush say the same right before invading Iraq? – The Infinite Unknown)
“All options are on the table, and my first choice is to solve this diplomatically,” Bush said today at a news conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel following talks at Schloss Meseberg, a government guesthouse about 70 kilometers (44 miles) north of Berlin. “If they choose to continue to be obstinate, there will be additional sanctions.”
Deterring Iran’s nuclear ambitions is the focus of Bush’s weeklong farewell trip to Europe. He travels to Rome later today and will also make stops in Paris and London.
`Will Not Retreat’
Iran won’t stop its nuclear work, Ahmadinejad stressed.
``You think that you can force the Iranian nation to back down from its legitimate rights through threats and pressures,” Iran’s state-run Islamic Republic News Agency cited Ahmadinejad as saying today in another speech, in the western town of Sefid Dasht. He added, “The Iranian nation will not retreat even 1 inch.”
Read moreAhmadinejad Says Bush Administration Can’t Hurt Iran