Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Tuesday criticized the head of
the International Atomic Energy Agency, calling him a pawn for US
interests.
Ahmadinejad said that IAEA was a tool for a few
countries bent on world domination, and stated that Iran would continue
to pursue nuclear development despite international pressure.
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"They have empowered a person in the IAEA that
has no authority and violates the agency's rules by repeating the words
of the US," the Iranian president said according to Iranian
semi-official FARS News Agency.
Ahamdinejad made the comments
just as the IAEA was expected to release a report detailing intelligence
about Tehran's nuclear capabilities.
The Iranian president also lashed out at the United States, saying Iran
does not need an atomic bomb to "cut off [the] US's hands," official
Iranian PressTV reported.
Noting that the United States possesses over 5,000 nuclear warheads,
Ahmadinejad accused Washington of arrogance in its campaign against
Tehran.
The US, he said, has allocated "$81 billion to upgrade its atomic bombs,
while the entire annual budget of Iran's nuclear research is merely
$250 million," according to the report.
The UN nuclear watchdog report is expected to show recent activity in
Iran that could help in developing nuclear warheads, including computer
models of such weapons.