In a rare press conference on Saturday, Iranian President Muhammad Khatami warned the United States that it cannot stabilize the security situation in Iraq and Afghanistan without Iran’s assistance. This comment was made after the Bush Administration accused Iran, which is predominantly Shi’ite, of intervening with internal matters in Iraq, a country which is also mostly Shi’ite.
Khatami was also critical towards the U.S. policy in Iraq and expressed hope that the number of American casualties in Iraq would sway the results of the upcoming presidential elections.
Khatami said his country is willing to guarantee that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes and not for creating weapons of mass destruction. He said that as Muslims, his people cannot use such weapons and therefore there is no reason they should create them.
The president did not specify the guarantees that Iran would grant, though analysts presume that Iran may increase cooperation with inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Iran has declared in the past that it has no intentions of creating nuclear weapons, but this is the first time Khatami has said so publicly.
Khatami said Iran has every right to engage in developing nuclear power, and insisted that the power will be used for producing electricity.
Also, South Africa has denied reports that the country is cooperating in the nuclear field with Iran.
Reports abounded a few weeks ago that the South African defense minister signed an agreement with his Iranian counterpart to increase cooperation with Iran on enrichment of uranium, reports that Israel eyed with mounting concern. The South African ambassador to Israel denied these reports and dismissed them as a journalistic misunderstanding.