Ahmadinejad calls nukes an 'inalienable right'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Iran's president on Thursday said his country will not negotiate over its "inalienable rights" to have a nuclear program, which the West fears is geared toward making atomic bombs. "My nation has chosen its path. Having said that, I also point out that we don't want to pick a fight with any country but we are very capable of defending ourselves and securing our national interests," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is on a three-day visit to Malaysia, told reporters. He said, however, that the door to negotiations remain open. The crisis over Iran's nuclear development has led to the possibility of the country being referred to the UN Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions. "We are ready to negotiate on different things. Having said that, it is very clear that we are not open to negotiating on our inalienable rights," the Iranian president said, speaking in Farsi through an interpreter.