“As God is my witness, the Iranian nation will not give a damn for (your) bombs, warships and planes,” he said in a televised speech in the city of Karaj west of Tehran.
“They say all (options) are on the table. Well, let them rot there. You yourself will rot,” he railed, in characteristically fiery language.
Ahmadinejad said the United States and its EU allies “should talk politely, and recognise the rights of (other) nations, and cooperate instead of showing teeth, and weapons and bombs.”
His words came as Iran and major world powers – the five UN Security Council permanent members and Germany – are poised to revive stalled talks amid high tensions over Tehran’s nuclear activities.
The United States in particular has repeated that “all options are on the table” when it comes to Iran, raising the spectre of military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
US President Barack Obama, though, has cautioned against “bluster” in talking about possible war with Iran, saying there still exists a window of diplomacy.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, welcomed Obama’s “good talk” but called US determination to press on with sanctions an “illusion”.
Mohammad Nahavandian, the head of Iran’s chamber of commerce, said in a statement on Sunday that the opportunity of the new talks with the world powers “should be seized, and we should try to pay serious attention to removing all sanctions.”
The United States and other Western governments suspect Iran is working towards a nuclear weapon capability, although US intelligence services say Tehran has made no decision yet on whether to produce an actual bomb.
Iran, for its part, denies it is even researching nuclear weapons.
It has twice refused, though, requests by the UN nuclear watchdog to inspect a suspect military site for signs of alleged experiments with explosives of the sort that could be used to trigger an atomic blast.
The United States and the European Union have in the past four months greatly ramped up economic sanctions on Iran in a bid to force it to suspend uranium enrichment, the most sensitive part of its nuclear programme.
Ahmadinejad said: “They should know they will never prevail. There are no acute problems in the country and its economic pillars are strong. It is a psychological war.”
His government, he vowed, “will overcome all the problems.”
The Iranian president also dismissed Israel, which has been leading the bellicose rhetoric, as “a dead entity”.
“Do not think that just because idiot leaders of regional countries support you, you will cement your basis in the region,” he said.
Ahmadinejad also lashed out at Arab governments backing the Western pressure against his country – implicitly including Saudi Arabia, which is pumping extra oil to make up for curbed Iranian exports.
“The (Arab leaders) have no support among their people. If they give only one day of freedom to their nation, their people in the one day will topple them all,” he said.
COMMENTS (17)
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Ahmedinijad is man of nerves, Iran is a sovereign state it must not be threatened in this way. Buhh he is playing way big gambol, may cost him his country. play carefully. . . . . .!!!
It looks as if Netanyahu had capitalised on the nuclear issue in Iran to distract social unrest at home. His talk of war has driven the world to the verge of frenzy and fear! What a despicable game!
he has got more guts then anyone
@antanu g: "As an Islamic nationalist,...." Now, there is an oxymoron, if ever there was one!
Long live Iran! An eye opener for all those leaders who are blindly agreeing upon all the terms and conditions of America and do not have the guts to spesk up for their rights. We as a nation have been slaves to America for 64 years and now we are being tortured by the U.S for acting as slaves. As for Saudia Arabia, the leaders there have always acted against Iran, never shown solidarity with Iranian Muslims due to their own ulterior motives. Iran stands alone against the U.S and it will never ever bow down InshaAllah..Down with America..Down with Israel..
@antanu g, Now you showed who you are !. Dont you think saudi arabia and all arab countries are not Islamic people for you to support them in their stance as well ? . Why do you select a default anti west and not question /ponder why saudis support west on this issue?
@Cautious:
You said "If Iran wants to resolve this conflict all they have to do is give honest answers to questions and let the UN do their jobs"
As if all the western countries including your father Obama is honest. All the western countries are cunning, stupid and illegally born and their supporters like you are stupid. and idiot.
@Cautious: Give it up buddy, PAK does not understand the Iran issue.
I am no fan of Iran but I salute their stance in the face of growing absurd threat from the West. Salute!
Good logic So this justify the non signatory countries and West to threat and bully the ones who have signed the treaty, while some intelligence agencies have said in the media that it has no proof Iran is making a bomb. Lets say excuses are being made to destroy Iran nuclear infrastructures.
@Jadugar. Israel, India and Pakistan never signed the UN nuclear non proliferation treaty and the UN has no authority to inspect there nuke facilities. N Korea was a signatory but when caught lying and testing their nukes they conveniently dropped out of the treaty and inspections are no longer required. Just like Iraq - Iran is a signatory of the treaty and is required to give UN inspectors full access - and just like Iraq they have been caught lying and obstructing. If Iran wants to resolve this conflict all they have to do is give honest answers to questions and let the UN do their jobs.
As an Islamic nationalist, I believe Iran is right and the West is wrong.
as long as countries who are treated unfairly by the West or the UN regarding their peaceful Nuclear programs have the right to protest and defend their programs, Speaking of inspectorrs, shouldn't UN be sending them to Israel or N. Korea or Pakistan not just Iran. if the inspectors wants to do their job then I think they should really look at places where there are 200 Bombs hidden.
Rather than make speeches talking about harsh language -- why not simply allow the UN inspectors to do their job? Iran has been caught lying so many times that even China and Russia can no longer afford to lose face supporting them.
Iran with its limited defense capability against the West and Israel,at least have the courage to stand up for its right, unlike few shameless Muslim countries who have not only sold their countries but are busy in destablizing the entire region by quitely supporting the unjust demand of the West. If Iran could be a threat, Israel is a bigger threat to the entire region.
I might not agree with Iran's strategy as such but I do agree with his stance that other nations should not bully them. This is unfair.
“They say all (options) are on the table. Well, let them rot there. You yourself will rot,” -- EPIC!