Iran has struck a nuclear mining deal with Zimbabwe, The Sunday Telegraph reported on Sunday as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was visiting Africa.According to the UK paper, the deal was sealed in Teheran in March by a close aide of Zimbabwe’s President Robert Mugabe. Zimbabwe will provide Iran with access to deposits of uranium ore in return for oil.“Iran secured the exclusive uranium rights last month, when the minister of state for presidential affairs, Didymus Mutasa, visited Teheran,” a Zimbabwean official told the Telegraph.Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was in Africa this week to build alliances to evade stronger UN sanctions for his country’s nuclear program, ease its international isolation and strengthen its economy.On Saturday, Ahmadinejad said any more United Nations sanctions on his nuclear program would be illegal, insisting he would not submit to any such pressure based on the United States and Britain “lying” about the evidence. The Iranian leader, wrapping up two days of talks with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, lambasted the Western allies for pressing for a fourth round of Security Council sanctions. He let loose when asked by an Associated Press reporter to discuss his effort to evade more UN sanctions by meeting with leaders of Uganda, a non-permanent member of the 15-nation council. “The nuclear issue of Iran has turned into a big test for the entire world,” Ahmadinejad said. The US and Britain “say they are concerned about the building of a nuclear bomb, but they are lying like the other previous lies.
