Iran: 'We're being tried for a crime we haven't committed'

Foreign Ministry spokesman says UN sanctions are "illegal, unwelcome"; newspaper reports Iran pays Taliban each time a US soldier is killed.

By JPOST.COM STAFF
Iran Reactor 311 (photo credit: Associated Press)
Iran Reactor 311
(photo credit: Associated Press)
Iran is "being tried for a crime" it hasn't committed, said Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Sunday, in an interview with the IRIB.
According to an Iranian Press TV report, the official referred to the UN Security Council sanctions in place against Iran's nuclear program, and stated that these were not only unwelcome, they would also not discourage the country from pursuing their nuclear program, which they say is for strictly peaceful purposes.
RELATED:
US military chief seeks support over Iran
Editorial: Iran's Bushehr success
Also on Sunday, a top Iranian lawmaker said that millions of people worldwide are demanding Israeli leaders be put on trial for "brutal acts as occupiers in Palestinian land."
First Vice Speaker of the Iranian Parliament (Majlis) Mohammad Hassan Aboutorabi-Fard made the comments to ISNA, adding that he hoped the resistance would help to bring about Israel's defeat.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called Israel "hypocrite racists" and a Western invention as Iranians celebrated International Jerusalem Day last Friday, at the end of the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, with rallies against the "Israeli occupation of Palestinian land by Israel" being held across the country, according to PressTV.
In related news, just days after the Iranian president said the that the US military were too weak to defeat even a small army in Iraq, British newspaper the Sunday Times reported that at least five Iranian companies are paying the Taliban each time they kill an American soldier.
According to the report, senior members of the Islamic terror group confirmed that Iran pays rebels $1,000 for each soldier killed and a further $6,000 for every vehicle destroyed.
AP contributed to this report.