Ahmadinejad: We’re Not Afraid of Israel or the US

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad continued his attacks against Israel and the US on Sunday.







In an interview he gave to the Al-Jazeera network, Ahmadinejad said that Israel is “too weak” to attack Iran's nuclear facilities, and added that Israel did not have "the courage to do it... and I do not think its threat is serious." He also said that his country would act decisively against anyone who attempts a military strike against it.






The interview was given in Farsi and translated to Arabic. Ahmadinejad also dismissed the possibility of a US strike on Iran's nuclear facilities, saying that "America is not interested in sparking a military confrontation. There are no logical reasons for the United States to carry out such an act. Do you believe an army that has been defeated by a small army in Iraq can enter into a war with a large and well trained army like the Iranian army?"






Ahmadinejad offered the US his country’s friendship, saying that “the friendship of Iran is much better than its hostility.”






Earlier on Sunday, Iran announced the launching of a new unmanned jet bomber dubbed “an ambassador of death” to Israel and other enemies.






"The jet, as well as being an ambassador of death for the enemies of humanity, has a main message of peace and friendship," Ahmadinejad told Iranian officials during the announcement. He added that the aircraft will help "keep the enemy paralyzed in its bases…until the enemies of humanity lose hope of ever attacking the Iranian nation."






On Saturday, the Bushehr nuclear plant became operational and is supposed to produce electricity from the uranium being supplied by Russia. The Bushehr fuel is enriched to approximately 3.5%, while weapons-grade fuel is enriched to over 90%.






While Israel did not comment on the opening of the Bushehr plant, Gary Samore, President Obama’s top adviser on nuclear issues, was quoted in the New York Times on Friday as saying that “we think that they have roughly a year dash time,” referring to the minimum amount of time it would take to convert the fuel to weapons-grade uranium. The report in the Times said that the US and Israel would be able to detect within weeks of when this process began and have a considerable amount of time to still consider military strikes.