Ahmadinejad: Iran will stand up to the West in Persian New Year

Tehran - Iran would stand even more firmly against the West this year, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday in a message broadcast on state television as the country celebrated the Persian New Year.

"Enemies have tried to weaken our country but they have failed and in the coming year we will stand even more firmly against them than before," he said.

Iran faces continued pressure over its suspected nuclear weapons program, with the US and European states pushing for tougher economic sanctions.

On the occasion of Persian New Year, Nowruz, which began Saturday evening, US President Barack Obama appealed directly via video message to the Iranian people and repeated his offer of a dialogue with Tehran.

Ahmadinejad said however "next year we will continue our work faster and with more decisiveness, move towards more progress and present the people with great political and technical achievements."

"We will remove obstacles and turn any moves (by the West) into new opportunities," the president said.

"Nobody should worry because the future is ours," Ahmadinejad continued.

Referring to last June's disputed presidential election, he said that the high number of votes in favor of the government was not only "a manifestation of real democracy ... but also the start of the globalization of Iran's Islamic revolution."

The election led to street protests in which tens of people were killed and thousands arrested. Over 80 were later sentenced to jail terms and at least ten to death. Two monarchists have already been executed for allegedly planning to topple the Islamic establishment.

The opposition has not yet acknowledged Ahmadinejad's re-election. Green Movement leader Mir-Hossein Moussavi said in his new year message that resistance against the Iranian government would continue.

Source: Earth Times.
Link: http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/315022,ahmadinejad-iran-will-stand-up-to-the-west-in-persian.html.