Israel In No Position To Attack Iran

Y Net News reports:

He was once the president of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization; the man dubbed "the father of Iran's nuclear program" now in an interview given to the BBC, Akbar Etemad says he doesn't believe there is a way out of the current deadlock between Iranand the West and adds: "Neither Israel or the US are in a position to attack Iran."

... in the 70s the Shah of Iran had announced that he wanted to build nuclear power plants in the country, a plan supported by the United States.

The goal was for Iran to produce 23,000 megawatts of electrical power. But Etemad says the US soon tried to impose conditions.

The Americans, he recalls, were initially supportive "because they thought they were going to be a partner of Iran in the application of nuclear technology.

"I had the impression that the Americans wanted to impose their views on Iran and I refused to deal with them. We were discussing for four years the terms of the bilateral agreement and we never came to a conclusion.''

He says that the Americans told him then that ''Iran is not a problem for us but the conditions we impose on Iran are those that we want to impose on other countries'' such as Yugoslavia and the Philippines.

In the interview with BBC's Today program, Etemad says that between 1974 and 1978 there was regular contact with the US, and Iranian students went to study nuclear research there.

"there's no way out. I think Iran has the right to do the research that they are doing and I don't see why the Western countries impose sanctions against Iran.

"They pressure Iran. Why didn't they do it with India, Pakistan with Israel?" he asks. Etemad currently sees no solution but thinks that ''Iran should not give in".

"neither Israel or the US are in a position to attack Iran."

Khamenei also called for Iran's "natural right" to enrich uranium for nuclear energy to be recognized by the world.