Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insists the name of Persian Gulf is so indisputable that makes it beyond negotiation.

“The name of the Persian Gulf is so irrefutable that it is non-negotiable,” President Ahmadinejad said Thursday in a live televised program in Iran’s southern Hormozgan province on the Persian Gulf coastline.

“Some claims lack legal and political values,” the Iranian chief executive added. “Those who make such claims say that they are under pressure to do so.”

President Ahmadinejad further pointed out that all credible maps in the world bear the name of the Persian Gulf.

“Nobody can change Iran’s strong relations with the regional countries,” he also reiterated.

Despite the existence of historical and geographical documents that prove, beyond doubt, the authenticity of the Persian Gulf’s name, some Arab states over the past years have spared no efforts to violate the international standards and distort the name of these waters to “Arabian Gulf.”

Since Persian Gulf occupies a pivotal place in the Iranian history and culture, the false use of the name of the area has always provoked the annoyance of Iranian people and governments.

The historical and geographical name of the Persian Gulf has been endorsed and clarified by the United Nations on many occasions and is in use by the United Nations, its member states, and all other international agencies worldwide. The last UN Directive confirming the name of the Persian Gulf was on August 18, 1994.

The use of the distorted name of the Persian Gulf was also described as ‘faulty’ by the Eighth United Nations Conference on the Standardization of Geographical Names in Berlin on August 27, 2002.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned Israel that initiating a new military conflict in the Middle East would not save it from downfall.

Speaking in the southern Iranian Province of Hormozagan on Thursday, Ahmadinejad said that Israel was a Western prodigy that had now “reached the end of its road.”

“See what has become of Israel. They [the West] gathered the most criminal people in the world and stationed them in our region with lies and fabricated scenarios. They waged wars, committed massive aggression… and made millions of people homeless,” he told a crowd of supporters in the provincial capital, Bandar-Abbas.

“Today, it is clear that Israel is the most hated regime in the world… It is not useful for its masters [the West] anymore. They are in doubt now. They wonder whether to continue spending money on this regime or not,” said Ahmadinejad.

“But whether they want it or not, with god’s grace, this regime will be annihilated and Palestinians and other regional nations will be rid of its bad omen,” he added.

The top Iranian executive official pointed out that he did not believe that “even a new military conflict” could save the Israeli regime.

“They think in their underdeveloped minds that if they launch another war against Lebanon or Syria it might help them survive a little longer. I am telling them that you are in a situation now that more aggressions or wars will not save you.”

Ahmadinejad also advised the US and its allies to pull their troops out of the Middle East and stop “making mischief.”

“What are you doing in our region? Why are you deploying military forces here,” he asked.

“If you think military deployment will help you seize the oil in Iraq and in the Persian Gulf, I must tell you that the young generation of the Middle East will cut your hands off from the oil reserves of the Persian Gulf,” he added.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has left Tehran for Kabul leading a high-ranking delegation on his first official visit to Afghanistan since the re-election of Hamid Karzai as president.

The Iranian president was received in the Afghan capital by Vice President Muhammad Qasim Fahim. He is reportedly on his way to be officially welcomed by President Karzai in the presidential palace.

“Iran has innovative plans for resolving ongoing problems in Afghanistan and the withdrawal of the occupying forces from the country,” Ahmadinejad told reporters on Wednesday ahead of his departure.

He touched upon strong bonds between the two neighboring states and said Iran has always supported the Afghan people while they were facing woes.

Ahmadinejad said Iranian and Afghan authorities have been holding regular consultations, adding, “Afghan President Karzai travelled to Iran many times and I have paid a visit to Afghanistan.”

The Iranian president said he would hold talks with senior Afghan officials, expressing optimism that the two countries would take positive steps to deal with existing issues.

Iran firmly believes that the persisting instability and insecurity in Afghanistan has its roots in the presence of foreign troops and has repeatedly called for the complete withdrawal of US-led forces from the country.

Iran, which has close ethnic and religious ties with Afghanistan, is a long-time victim of opium production in the neighbor state.

Although Iran has won the praise of the UN for its strenuous efforts in fighting drug trafficking, its long border with Afghanistan has prompted smugglers to view Iran as the best route for transporting drug to Europe and the West.

Since the 2001 US-led invasion of Afghanistan, drug production in the country has surged making it the source of 90 percent of the world’s heroin supply.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran will help Zimbabwe as much as possible in view of the sanctions imposed on Harare by the West.

Ahmadinejad made the remarks during a meeting with Zimbabwean Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Didymus Mutasa in Tehran on Monday.

The Islamic Republic will stand by Zimbabwe against “illegal pressure,” he added.

Ahmadinejad said Iran has always condemned the illegal pressure imposed by hegemonistic powers meant to force the Zimbabweans to surrender.

He praised the African nation for its resistance against the odds and predicted that independent nations would have a bright future.

Ahmadinejad also called for the implementation of all the agreements signed by the two nations.

Mutasa relayed Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe’s message to the Iranian president.

He also asked Iran to increase cooperation with Zimbabwe and to invest more in the country.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the capitalist system, which has been established by Israel is inching towards its end.

“Depredation, bullying and killing the reality of humanity are the outcomes of the capitalist way of thinking,” Ahmadinejad said on Saturday.

He deplored crimes by arrogant powers, saying, “They carry out heinous killings and acts of terror in the world under the guise of [defending] human rights.”

“The US attack and NATO expedition into the region were merely aimed at saving liberal democracy and the capitalist thought,” said the president.

Ahmadinejad said the September 11, 2001 attacks were part of a “scenario and a complicated intelligence move” and added, “The September 11 incident was a big lie aimed at finding the pretext to fight terrorism but it prepared the ground for adventurism in Afghanistan.”

The Iranian president pointed to the arrest of the leader of the Jundallah terrorist group, Abdolmalek Rigi, and said his capture was a disgrace for the intelligence services of the US and Israel.

Rigi was captured by Iranian security forces on February 23. He was aboard a passenger jet flying to Kyrgyzstan from the UAE when his plane was grounded in the Iranian port city of Bandar Abbas.

A few hours after Rigi’s arrest, Iranian Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi said that the notorious villain was at a US base 24 hours prior to being captured by Iranian forces, adding that the Americans had issued an Afghan passport for him.

In his confessions, Rigi revealed details about his ties with some intelligence agencies such as the CIA and said that he had closely cooperated with the security services of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the myth of imperialism will soon be shattered.

The myth of imperialism will soon shatter as more and more nations are waking up to restore their independence, and military threats and methods of intimidation can no longer benefit the hegemonic powers, Ahmadinejad told visiting Ecuadorian First Vice President Lenin Moreno in Tehran on Saturday.

“Ecuador and a number of other countries are the standard-bearers of honor, justice, and independence in Latin America. This is due to the revolutionary movements which have emerged in them. Tehran and Quito regard the dominant governing system in the world as unjust and seek to create a world alive with justice, peace, and friendship,” he noted.

“Although Iran and Ecuador are geographically very distant from each other, the two nations share the same areas of interest and concern and are determined to develop reciprocal ties in all areas,” the Iranian president added.

Moreno described Iran as a forerunner in the campaign against world imperialism and called for the expansion of ties between the two countries in the economic, cultural, and political spheres.

The Ecuadorian first vice president also said his country fully supports the Iranian nuclear program, adding that Quito regards Tehran’s nuclear activities as legal and legitimate.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has blasted Israeli inhumane crimes, insisting that the era of the Israeli regime and its allies is inching towards an end.

“Your [Israelis and their allies] time is over… You should respect the Palestinian people and go back to your own home,” Ahmadinejad said during an international conference on Palestine in Tehran on Sunday.

“You have no repute among the regional nations…You should recognize that regional nations are wise. The Zionist regime will face no other fate than collapse if it continues its aggression,” he added.

Ahmadinejad said that Israel has no mission but occupation, aggression and spreading warmongering policies, adding, “Anti-terrorism slogans are just pretexts for presence in the region and support for the Zionism.”

He emphasized that the Israeli regime is on the decline and has reached an impasse, calling on the Palestinians and regional nations to strengthen their unity to achieve victory over Israel.

“Unity and readiness of the Palestinian people are the only ways to control this evil demon and send it to the bottom of hell,” said the Iranian president.

He expressed Iran’s full support for the Palestinian resistance against Israel.

Ahmadinejad reiterated that the European and American people intend to put an end to Zionist thoughts and added, “If the European governments and the US have doubts about this fact, they should allow their people to express their views about the fake Zionist regime in a free referendum.”

He stressed that Zionists are the root cause of all wars, terror acts, crimes and destruction in the world.

“Their (Israeli) presence even in one inch of the region’s soil causes threat, crisis and war,” he said. “The only way to confront them is through the heroic resistance of the Palestinian youths and that of the regional nations.”

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki has called on Muslims across the globe to fulfill their obligations and pledge solid support for the Palestinians and their cause in the campaign against the Zionist regime.

“A strongly held belief is that the Palestinian resistance must be properly encouraged. The Islamic Republic of Iran regards supporting the Palestinian nation’s struggle against the Zionist enemy as a matter of ideology and duty, so it strives to honor it,” Mottaki said in an address to the Conference on National and Islamic Solidarity for the Future of Palestine, which was held in Tehran on Saturday.

He added that a significant proportion of the world population now recognizes the legitimacy of the Palestinian resistance against the brutal, unlawful, and illegitimate nature of the Zionist regime compared to decades ago, when support was much lower.

Mottaki also noted that the failure of the US-brokered deals has proven that resistance is the only viable option for the Palestinians in their struggle against the Zionist regime.

The Conference on National and Islamic Solidarity for the Future of Palestine began on Saturday at the Iranian Foreign Ministry in Tehran.

Ten Palestinian groups, including Hamas (the Islamic Resistance Movement) and Islamic Jihad, are participating in the two-day conference.

A number of Iranian officials and Palestinian resistance figures are also attending the conference.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is scheduled to address the closing ceremony of the event on Sunday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls on regional nations to remain vigilant against oppressive powers, saying that the Israeli regime will collapse if it repeats its previous mistakes.

“The recent threats by the Zionist regime [Israel] show the weakness of its officials. As time goes by, the resistance powers and free and independent nations near victory while the oppressive system is declining,” Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with Hezbollah Secretary General Seyyed Hassan Nasrallah in the Syrian capital of Damascus.

The Iranian president stressed the importance of strengthening national unity in Palestine.

Ahmadinejad and Nasrallah exchanged views on the latest developments in the Middle East, the role of resistance forces in the region and the Israeli threat against both Lebanon and Syria.

Nasrallah said resistance forces are closely monitoring regional developments and are ready to counter all threats by the Zionist regime.

He added that resistance movements would give a crushing response to any possible Israeli attack.

Nasrallah has recently warned that the movement will strike Israeli infrastructure including the Ben Gurion International airport in Tel Aviv in the event of any Israeli attack on Lebanon.

“If you hit Rafiq al-Hariri international airport in Beirut, we will hit Ben-Gurion airport in Tel Aviv,” he said. “If you hit our ports, we will bomb your ports, and if you hit our oil refineries, we will bomb your oil refineries.”

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said Tehran-Damascus ties are as “solid” as ever despite the US calls on Syria to distance itself from the Islamic Republic.

“Relations between Syria and Iran are brotherly, deep, solid and permanent … Nothing can damage these relations,” President Ahmadinejad said at a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Thursday.

The Iranian president further pointed out that Israel was “on the path to disappearing.”

“If the Zionist entity wants to repeats its past errors, its death will be inevitable,” Ahmadinejad said.

The Syrian president said at the joint news conference that he was “surprised” at US calls for Syria to stop its relations with Iran.

“I am surprised by their call to keep a distance between the countries … when they raise the issue of stability and peace in the Middle East, and all the other beautiful principles,” al-Assad told reporters.

“We need to further reinforce relations if the true objective is stability. We do not want others to give us lessons on our region, our history,” he added.

The Syrian leader also defended Iran’s right to pursue uranium enrichment, despite the threat of new sanctions against Tehran over the country’s nuclear program.

“To forbid an independent state the right to enrichment amounts to a new colonialist process in the region,” the Syrian president concluded.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has arrived in Damascus to discuss with his Syrian counterpart Bashar Assad the threat that Israel poses to the Middle East and beyond.

Before leaving Tehran on Thursday morning, the Iranian president announced that his talks with Assad in the Syrian capital would focus on regional and global developments.

Ahmadinejad added that Israel’s efforts to destabilize the region would also be one of the main topics of their discussions.

He mentioned that Iran and Syria already share the same stance on regional and global issues, noting that both countries stood in “the front line of standing up to” Israel.

“These days, the Zionists are constantly threatening countries and nations surrounding Palestine. They intend to drag the region into an atmosphere of serious tension,” he said

“That is why it is necessary for our two countries to begin a new series of negotiations,” he added.

Winding up, the Iranian president pointed out that talks on economic cooperation and joint investment projects would also be a part of his discussions with his Syrian counterpart.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad censure what he describes as self-proclaimed anti-terror fighters for their double standards in countering terrorists.

President Ahmadinejad made the remark in Iran’s eastern province of Southern Khorasan on Wednesday.

The president insisted that such countries claim to fight terror while simultaneously supporting terrorists such as Abdulmalek Rigi, the ringleader of the notorious terror group of Jundallah.

“Why have you issued a passport for Rigi if you want to arrest a terrorist?” asked Ahmadinejad, referring to the forged Afghan passport issued to Rigi by US authorities.

Iran’s Intelligence Minister Heidar Moslehi announced Tuesday that Abdulmalek Rigi was at a US base in Afghanistan 24 hours before his capture in southern Iran, where he was found to have the forged passport in his possession.

“The Iranian security forces captured Rigi without any bloodshed,” the Iranian president went on to say. “It is better for these countries to adopt the Iranian model of campaigning against terrorism.”

Iran’s security forces arrested Rigi on Tuesday when they forced his plane, en-route Kyrgyzstan from Dubai, to land in the port city of Bandar Abbas over the Iranian airspace.

Jundullah, which has operated in Iran’s Sistan-Baluchistan and Pakistan’s Baluchistan provinces, has carried out numerous attacks against ordinary people and travelers, as well as some high-profile Iranian targets, especially a number of local government and security officials.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has waned against an attack on Iran, saying any act of aggression against the country will be met with a crushing response.

“We will welcome a hand which has sincerely reached out for friendship, but if a hand is extended for aggression, the nation will cut it from the arm,” he told crowds of people in the northeastern town of Birjand in South Khorasan Province.

Ahmadinejad further said that Iran would stand by regional countries in case of any possible attack by Israel.

“The Zionist regime is provoked by Western countries to attack its neighbors… but what I have understood after talking to the leaders of the regional countries is that one more mistake will mean the end of the Zionists,” he added.

On Iran’s nuclear program, Ahmadinejad reiterated that Tehran was not after making an atomic bomb and stressed Iranians do not need such weapons.

The Iranian president said Tehran has mastered the uranium enrichment technology, stressing that the country was resolved to use all domestic capacities for the nation’s dignity.

Ahmadinejad, however, added that Iran still welcomed a nuclear fuel swap deal without any preconditions inside the Iranian territory.

Iran needs 120 kilos (264 pounds) of 20 percent-enriched uranium to fuel the Tehran research reactor, which produces medical isotopes for cancer patients and is soon to run out of fuel.

The West has been pressuring Iran to accept a UN-backed deal which requires Iran to send most of its domestically-produced low enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for conversion into the more refined fuel for the Tehran reactor.

Citing the West’s previous failures to meet its obligations regarding Iran’s nuclear program, Tehran has asked for concrete guarantees over the return of the fuel.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad met Congolese Parliament Speaker Evariste Boshab in Tehran on Monday.

During the meeting, Ahmadinejad stated that independent nations must forge closer ties to counter the designs of the hegemonistic powers.

The Iranian president said he believes that strengthening multilateral relations is the best strategy for independent countries to adopt to resist the pressure of the world’s domineering powers.

The domineering powers use every means at their disposal, including economic sanctions and wars, to impede independent nations’ progress, he added.

He went on to say that imperialism and capitalism are doomed to failure.

Iran and the Democratic Republic of Congo should hinder the oppressive powers’ efforts to impose their will on nations, Ahmadinejad said.

The Iranian president also welcomed the expansion of relations with Congo.

In response, the Congolese parliament speaker said Congo is also eager to expand its relations with Iran.

Congo is seeking to strengthen ties with Iran as part of its efforts to resist “injustice and pressure,” Boshab added.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad blames world powers for spreading insecurity and instability in the Middle East.

“The so-called powerful countries are merely after their own interests. They are willing go so far as to sacrifice other countries and nations for their interests,” Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with Azerbaijan’s Parliament Speaker Ogtay Asadov in Tehran on Sunday.

“These countries have always sought to cause insecurity in the region (Middle East),” he added.

The Iranian president stressed the importance of bolstering cooperation among regional countries to “counter the hegemonic system” overshadowing the world.

“The weakening of the so-called powerful countries will completely change the state of affairs on the regional and international scale,” Ahmadinejad said.

He urged regional countries to use a common currency other than the dollar in their trade and economic exchanges.

Asadov said world powers have never been willing to meet the interests of regional countries.

He called on the Caspian Sea littoral states to strengthen cooperation with the purpose of serving their common interests.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the Islamic Republic of Iran does not need nuclear weapons to defend itself.

“Iran can defend itself without nuclear weapons. Nuclear weapons are of no use anymore and have no place in current international equations. Could the Soviet Union’s stockpile of nuclear weapons prevent its collapse? Have they been of any assistance to the US military in its wars against Afghanistan and Iraq?”

“Atomic bombs couldn’t secure a victory for the Zionist regime in the Lebanon and Gaza wars,” Ahmadinejad said in an interview published in the latest edition of the Russian magazine VIP-Premier.

It would be advisable for those countries that are accusing Iran of having a clandestine nuclear weapons program to take a look at their own nuclear arsenals, he observed.

Ahmadinejad went on to say that NATO’s eastward expansion is meant to contain Russia’s influence.

He suggested that Moscow expand its cooperation with regional countries to prevent outsiders from threatening regional security.

The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have accused Iran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program.

Yet, as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Iran has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology meant for peaceful purposes.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran’s civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.

But Israel possesses a nuclear arsenal of at least 250 warheads, has never signed the NPT, and has never allowed IAEA inspections of all its nuclear facilities.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has called for a world free of nuclear arms saying that the era of such weapons is over.

“We believe that not only the Middle East but also the whole world should be free of nuclear weapons because we see such weapons as inhumane,” Ahmadinejad said in an interview with Russia’s NTV channel.

“Today, no one can use a nuclear weapon and we believe that the US is taking a wrong move by stockpiling nuclear weapons,” Ahmadinejad stated.

He stressed that the nuclear weapons no longer have efficiency, noting the US that possesses nuclear weapons will never achieve victory in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“Those who claim that they are against nuclear weapons should dismantle their nuclear weapons first to prove that they are honest,” the Iranian president said.

Iran’s nuclear chief confirms that the country has produced its first batch of higher-enriched uranium for use in a medical-research reactor in Tehran.

This comes after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had announced on Thursday that the country has successfully managed to complete production of its first stock of uranium enriched to 20 percent.

“We have produced the first batch of 20 percent enriched uranium at the Natanz enrichment facility,” Ahmadinejad said at a rally marking the 31st anniversary of the Islamic Revolution in Tehran.

Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Director Ali Akbar Salehi confirmed the announcement later in the day, adding that the process has the capacity to produce an estimated amount of three to five kilograms of 20-percent enriched uranium per month.

Iran has requested the International Atomic Energy Agency to arrange for supplying of the fuel to the country. The West has been pressuring Iran to accept a UN-backed draft deal which requires Iran to send most of its domestically-produced low enriched uranium (LEU) abroad for conversion into the more refined fuel that the Tehran reactor requires to produce medical isotopes.

Iran says its concerns over the proposal, which was first floated by the US, should be heeded. The development come as Tehran says is still ready to negotiate over the issue and has been trying to find a middle ground with the West over the nuclear swap.

Iran needs 120 kg (264 lb) of 20 percent-enriched uranium to fuel the Tehran research reactor, which produces medical isotopes for cancer patients and is soon to run out of fuel.

If the reactor’s fuel completely dries up, there will be heavy consequences for thousands of Iranian patients, who desperately need post-surgery drug treatment with nuclear medicine.

On Tuesday, Iran began enriching uranium to a level of 20 percent at its Natanz enrichment facility under the surveillance of the UN nuclear watchdog.

The news has been greeted with skepticism, and somewhat fury, by Western powers — particularly the United States, which has for years been under the impression that Iran seeks to develop nuclear weapons in the long run.

In response to the growing Western pressure, Iran’s Ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency Ali Asghar Soltanieh has asserted that the Tehran government reserves the right to produce higher-enriched uranium.

“Iran has the right to enrich uranium to 20 percent to provide fuel for the Tehran research reactor,” Soltanieh said in an interview with the Al-Alam News Network on Wednesday.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has unveiled the electric version of Iran’s national car Samand which is produced by the Middle East’s leading automaker, IKCO.

With the maximum velocity of 140 kilometers per hour, the electric Samand can travel 200-km before it needs recharging, Fars news agency reported on Wednesday.

Through producing the electric Samand, Iran has joined top producers of electric cars in the world.

The car was unveiled in the Presidential Office.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says regional and global issues cannot be resolved through military action.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran is of the opinion that the solution to the current regional and global issues is not a military one and that the only way out is to return to humanity, justice, morality, culture and deliberation,” President Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday at a gathering of foreign diplomats in Tehran.

He added that the intervention of foreign forces in the region, including Iraq and Afghanistan, have only added to the problems without bringing peace and security back to the region.

“The presence of foreign [forces] in Afghanistan, Iraq and the region as well as the establishment of military bases have brought nothing but insecurity, division and the deaths of innocent people.”

President Ahmadinejad added that Iran “seeks to expand relations and cooperation with all the countries [in the world], except for the Zionist regime [of Israel].”