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EC chairman: Iran will never overlook its right to acquire nuclear energy

IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency

Tehran, Feb 6, IRNA -- Chairman of the Expediency Council Akbar 
Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Sunday that Iran will never overlook its 
right to acquire nuclear energy. 
In a meeting with director of French Institute of International 
Relations Thierry de Montbrial, Rafsanjani said that how the Iranian 
nation can deprive itself of nuclear technology whereas France 
produces 75 percent of electricity from nuclear power plants. 
Rafsanjani dismissed the propaganda against Iranian nuclear 
program and said that Iran`s confidence-building measures should be 
welcomed by the European partners. 
Referring to the US hostility toward Iran, he said that if the 
White House officials were not absent minded, they would understand 
that their threats and hostile actions against Iran would never be 
in their interests or in the interest of the region and the entire 
world. 
"Iraqi imposed war on Iran took place with full US intelligence 
support and military equipment of other countries, but, at the end, 
the US president forwarded a bible with his signature, and a cake 
with key to Iranian officials," Rafsanjani said. 
"The US is aware of the consequences of any aggression in the 
region and well knows that Iranians will thwart any aggression and 
they will turn the tide to their own benefits," he said. 
Responding to Montbrial`s question about Iranian economy, 
Rafsanjani said that Iranian economy has been directed to the path 
of development and progress. 
He said that the national and international realities guarantee 
the growing trend of Iranian economy and that the path of development 
can never be stopped and that the process of development is 
irreversible. 
Rafsanjani pointed to the latest decisions made by the Expediency 
Council and said that the constitutional body has prepared the ground 
for foreign investment to support national economy. 
Montbrial briefed Rafsanjani on the French government`s 
attitude towards regional issues and said that France believes 
that the Americans are making a mistake about Iran. 
He said that the sense of independence of the Iranian nation is 
admirable, but, the Americans have not understood the strength of the 
foundation of the Iranian governing system. 
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