Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was sworn in as Iranian president yesterday, declaring his foreign policy would focus on good relations with the rest of the world but likewise rejecting all outside pressure on his government to change course.
"Justice, peace and detente are important elements in our foreign policy. These are inseparable parts of our policy," Ahmadinejad said in an inaugural speech to parliament after his swearing-in.
At the same time, Ahmadinejad said, "Our nation is not terrified by any threat. Nothing can crush the power of an integrated nation. Our government, based on support of such a nation, will bravely defend national interests and will not be humiliated."
On domestic affairs, Ahmadinejad said he would focus on restoring Islam as the guiding force in public policy.
"In the past years there were some efforts to weaken the role of religion in the country's politics and government. If religion weakens then our identity will be weakened and confiscated," he said.
He also renewed his promise to wipe out unemployment and poverty.
On Wednesday the former Tehran mayor, whose victory in June elections was flawed by charges of unfair voting practices, received approval from Iran's Islamic religious establishment. At the time, he promised to work for social justice and the alleviation of poverty.
Without directly mentioning the controversy over Iran's nuclear program, Ahmadinejad said his government respected international norms, but said "it would not follow illegal decisions that violate rights of the Iranian nation."
"I don't know why some countries do not want to understand the fact that the Iranian people do not tolerate force," Ahmadinejad said.
Shortly after his inauguration, the foreign ministry rejected Europe's proposal for ending the deeply divisive standoff over Tehran's nuclear program, calling it "unacceptable" and not up to Iran's "minimum expectations."
"The European proposals are unacceptable and against the provisions of the Paris agreement. The proposals do not meet Iran's minimum expectations," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said on state radio.
The Paris Agreement was reached between Iran and the three European countries negotiating on behalf of the 25-member EU. Under the deal, signed in November in Paris, Iran agreed to continue suspension of uranium enrichment and related activities.
Asian perspectives of the US have shifted from a country once perceived as a force of “moral legitimacy” to something akin to “a landlord seeking rent,” Singaporean Minister for Defence Ng Eng Hen (黃永宏) said on the sidelines of an international security meeting. Ng said in a round-table discussion at the Munich Security Conference in Germany that assumptions undertaken in the years after the end of World War II have fundamentally changed. One example is that from the time of former US president John F. Kennedy’s inaugural address more than 60 years ago, the image of the US was of a country
‘UNUSUAL EVENT’: The Australian defense minister said that the Chinese navy task group was entitled to be where it was, but Australia would be watching it closely The Australian and New Zealand militaries were monitoring three Chinese warships moving unusually far south along Australia’s east coast on an unknown mission, officials said yesterday. The Australian government a week ago said that the warships had traveled through Southeast Asia and the Coral Sea, and were approaching northeast Australia. Australian Minister for Defence Richard Marles yesterday said that the Chinese ships — the Hengyang naval frigate, the Zunyi cruiser and the Weishanhu replenishment vessel — were “off the east coast of Australia.” Defense officials did not respond to a request for comment on a Financial Times report that the task group from
BLIND COST CUTTING: A DOGE push to lay off 2,000 energy department workers resulted in hundreds of staff at a nuclear security agency being fired — then ‘unfired’ US President Donald Trump’s administration has halted the firings of hundreds of federal employees who were tasked with working on the nation’s nuclear weapons programs, in an about-face that has left workers confused and experts cautioning that the Department of Government Efficiency’s (DOGE’s) blind cost cutting would put communities at risk. Three US officials who spoke to The Associated Press said up to 350 employees at the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) were abruptly laid off late on Thursday, with some losing access to e-mail before they’d learned they were fired, only to try to enter their offices on Friday morning
STEADFAST DART: The six-week exercise, which involves about 10,000 troops from nine nations, focuses on rapid deployment scenarios and multidomain operations NATO is testing its ability to rapidly deploy across eastern Europe — without direct US assistance — as Washington shifts its approach toward European defense and the war in Ukraine. The six-week Steadfast Dart 2025 exercises across Bulgaria, Romania and Greece are taking place as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine approaches the three-year mark. They involve about 10,000 troops from nine nations and represent the largest NATO operation planned this year. The US absence from the exercises comes as European nations scramble to build greater military self-sufficiency over their concerns about the commitment of US President Donald Trump’s administration to common defense and
RSS