Khatami slams US for using force
* Criticises United States principle of pre-emptive strikes
ROME: Iranian President Mohammad Khatami on Friday accused the United States of resorting to violence and military strength to impose its will and criticised the US principle of “pre-emptive strikes”.
“Unfortunately, the current US leaders, more than their predecessors, resort to violence, to military means, to impose their own will,” Khatami told Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview.
“They believe in a principle that is absolutely dangerous which generates terrorism: the pre-emptive strike which provides a simple pretext to launch a military intervention,” he said. “In Iraq, there was the excuse of weapons of mass destruction: never found,” he said.
“We are certainly not looking for a conflict with the United States. We are making efforts not to give (them) any reason. But we are making preparations on the political, military and economic level, based on our public opinion,” Khatami warned.
“Iran is not Iraq or Afghanistan. Given what happened in Iraq, I would be surprised if the United States lacked wisdom and put itself in an even more complicated situation,” the Iranian leader said. Khatami meanwhile hailed European policy towards Tehran.
“We have welcomed very favourably the European proposal to open a dialogue with us. The progress has been slow but not disappointing,” he said.
He reiterated that Tehran’s nuclear programme - a bone of contention with the United States and the European Union - was not aimed at developing atomic weapons, but accused Israel of posing a threat to the Middle East.
“The entire region feels threatened by Israel which has the biggest nuclear arsenal in the region,” he said.
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