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Iran's nuclear program may up number of nuclear states: U.S. Vice President

Iran Materials 27 October 2009 14:53 (UTC +04:00)
Iran's nuclear program not only is the threat to Europe and other parts of the world, but also it may begin to generate emergence of new nuclear states, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview with Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, RIA novosti reported.
Iran's nuclear program may up number of nuclear states: U.S. Vice President

Iran's nuclear program not only is the threat to Europe and other parts of the world, but also it may begin to generate emergence of new nuclear states, U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said in an interview with Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, RIA novosti reported.

"It is in the interests of the world, it is in the interests of the people of Iran, it is in the interests of the people of Europe that Iran does not develop a nuclear weapon," Biden said," Not merely for the threat it may pose, less to us than to Europe and other parts of the world, but because of the cycle it may begin to generate, in terms of expansion of nuclear states."

The U.S. and other Western countries accuse Iran of developing nuclear weapons under the guise of peaceful nuclear energy program. Tehran rejects these accusations, claiming that its nuclear program is aimed solely at meeting the country's electricity needs.

According to Biden, the most destabilizing thing that could occur in terms of the spread of nuclear weapons would be the impact of a nuclear Iran on Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt, and the list goes on.

"I've been working my whole career as a U.S. senator and a vice president to put that genie back in the bottle [rather] than to expand it," he added.

"But in the process of us discussing Iran's future nuclear activities with our European partners, Russia, China, we don't have any intention nor has it crossed our minds that we would sell out any democratic forces," Biden said.

"We never have, and we never will [ignore such concerns]. Look at our track record, and the track record of those who people this administration. That is not who we have been in our past incarnation as senators and governors and members of administrations. It's not who we are," U.S. Vice President added.

But, the U.S also knows that it cannot dictate democratic outcomes. "You've got to grow institutions," Biden said.

"An election is a necessary precondition, but not sufficient. So we believe the bulk of the people of Iran are friendly toward the United States. They are not hostile. And they're going through a difficult period of deciding how to deal with their own government right now," Biden said.

The strong resistance took place in Tehran after the Iranian presidential elections on June 12, 2009. During the presidential elections in Iran on June 12, the current President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gained 66 percent of votes. His main rival, Mir Hussein Mousavi accused the government of falsifying the results of voting. The people dissatisfied with the results of the elections caused clashes between police and opposition supporters.

The European countries and the U.S condemned the brutal methods of suppression of demonstrations in Iran, which, according to unofficial data, claimed lives of 150 people, and accused the Iranian government of undermininng fundamentals of democracy.

"We don't have any intention nor has it crossed our minds that we would sell out any democratic forces," Biden said.

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