Ahmadinejad warns of plots to plunder nations
IRAN: Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has warned against foreign
powers’ plots to sow discord and conflict among regional nations,
stressing the importance of promoting cooperation and convergence in the
region.
“It has become obvious to all that foreign hands seek to [cause]
dissention and conflict among regional nations to dominate them and
plunder the rights of these nations,” Ahmadinejad said during the
inaugural ceremony of the final construction phase of the
multi-billion-dollar Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline project on Monday.
He described as “very important” the gas project between Tehran and
Islamabad, adding that it indicated the firm determination of regional
nations to strengthen their amicable bonds.
The Iranian chief executive emphasized that the IP pipeline project
shows the two countries’ determination to meet bilateral needs and
“become needless of others and those who seek to humiliate and dominate
nations.”
Ahmadinejad said the construction of the gas project was a “big
decision” and proposed extension of the pipeline to other Eastern
countries as a connecting artery. The Iranian president further rejected
any link between the IP project and Iran’s nuclear issue and noted that
those who oppose the Iranian nation’ development are using the nuclear
issue as a pretext to impede the country’s progress and to impose
sanctions on it.
The pipeline has nothing to do with Iran’s nuclear issue because
“natural gas cannot be used to build an atomic bomb,” but certain powers
opposed it and created obstacles in the way of its construction,
Ahmadinejad noted.
The Iranian president and his Pakistani counterpart, Asif Ali
Zardari, on Monday officially inaugurated the final construction phase
of Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project despite US attempts to block the
project. The United States has threatened Pakistan with stringent US and
UN sanctions if it goes through the IP gas pipeline project.
On March 2, Zardari downplayed US threats and emphasized that his
government would continue to pursue the construction of the gas
pipeline, reiterating that Islamabad would not stop the project at any
cost.
Pakistan faces a crushing energy crisis, which has caused
difficulties in financing the pipeline whose tranche on Pakistan soil
stretches from the border between the two countries to Nawabshah region.
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