Iran accuses U.S. of waging a “psychological war” against it
15:46|09/ 04/ 2006
TEHERAN, April 9 (RIA Novosti) – Iran on Sunday called “a
psychological war” a report that the U.S. was preparing for possible
military strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities.
A report by influential journalist Seymour Hersh in the New Yorker
magazine said the United States was considering using tactical nuclear
weapons to destroy Iran’s underground nuclear facilities.
“This is a psychological war launched by Americans because they feel
desperate regarding Iran’s nuclear dossier,” Iranian Foreign Ministry
spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said.
Asefi said the United States was unwilling to solve the Iran nuclear
problem peacefully and was seeking to create a crisis around this
issue.
Concerns about Iran’s nuclear program have been growing since the
Islamic Republic announced its intention to resume nuclear research in
January and the country’s hard-line president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad,
made a number of controversial remarks, including a call to wipe
Israel “off the face of the map.”
A number of countries have expressed alarm over Iran’s controversial
nuclear programs and have pushed for the UN Security Council to impose
sanctions on the country, as they suspect that Tehran is using its
civilian-energy programs to disguise military projects.
Russia has been at the forefront of efforts to solve the escalating
crisis diplomatically. Moscow has offered to enrich Iranian uranium –
a vital component in both civilian energy and military projects – in
Russia. But Tehran said in March that it would enrich a small amount
of the radioactive substance anyway, an announcement that was greeted
with widespread condemnation.