Iranian President Hassan Rouhani adopted some tough talk during a recent address to his country, promising fellow citizens that he will stand strong in the face of Western sanctions and continue to pursue what he characterized as “nuclear rights.”
In an address to mark the 25th anniversary of the death of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Rouhollah Khomeini on Tuesday, Mr. Rouhani said: “We will be successful in foreign policy and manage to protect nuclear rights and break the chains of unfair sanctions, via implementing the framework of standards related to national interests and the guidelines outlined by the Supreme Leader,” Tasnim News Agency reported.
“Undoubtedly, nuclear energy, peace and stability, progress and development, science, regional and global influence, and unity are the inalienable rights of the Iranian nation,” he said.
Tehran has long claimed its nuclear program has been for peaceable purposes only, related to the nation’s energy needs. The West, including the United States, has maintained the country is aggressively pursuing nuclear arms.
Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, just wrapped discussions about nuclear development — and the sanctions the West has placed on Tehran — at a conference in Vienna. The same gathering is due for more talks on June 16.
• Cheryl K. Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
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