The U.S. president had been a disappointment to the world, Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Britain’s Channel 4 News, a full transcript of which was later posted on its website.
He once again dismissed a year-end deadline on a U.N.-drafted fuel deal, saying it was “meaningless.” The deal requires Iran to ship most of its low-enriched uranium (LEU) abroad in exchange for fuel for a Tehran research reactor.
The United States has made it clear it intends to pursue harsher sanctions against Iran in the United Nations if Iran fails to meet the deadline.
Ahmadinejad said Iran had made the proposal, and according to the regulations the offer of fuel was unconditional.
“But they are insisting that to have conditions for giving us the fuel — political conditions I mean — while the exchange of fuel is a technical job. I have not yet heard anybody who has given a deadline for this because it is meaningless.”
Iran says its uranium enrichment program is solely aimed at generating electricity so it can export more gas and oil. The West believes Iran wants to make atomic bombs.
“I think it has become an old issue to talk about the nuclear program,” Ahmadinejad said.
“The story of these claim(s) of U.S. and its allies have turned into a TV series.”
He said Iran would not accept a policy of “intimidation and aggression” from the United States, and warned if the major powers did not accept the offer, Iran would produce 20 percent grade uranium.
The president said Iran had told the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about the uranium enriching facility at Qom a year before the activities started “but unfortunately they have misinterpreted our cooperation.”
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