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Iran's Supreme Leader Vows To Resist Western Pressure

June 15, 2006 -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said today Tehran would continue to resist Western pressure over its nuclear energy program.

State media quoted Khamenei as saying that "the Islamic Republic of Iran will not succumb to these pressures and it considers the continuation [of its nuclear program] a main objective."

The statement comes after Iranian Foreign Minister Manuchehr Mottaki said in Madrid on June 14 that the recent incentives proposal was "very positive" and would be examined seriously. He was referring to the offer of technical and commercial cooperation from the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany to Tehran in exchange for giving up its uranium enrichment.

Meanwhile, Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that Tehran reacted positively to the proposal.

Putin said after talks with Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit in Shanghai that he has positive feelings about the meeeting.

Iran, which claims its nuclear program is strictly for energy use and not a weapons program as the West fears, has given mixed signals in recent days over the offer.

(Reuters, AFP)

Copyright (c) 2006. RFE/RL, Inc. Reprinted with the permission of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, 1201 Connecticut Ave., N.W. Washington DC 20036. www.rferl.org