It is tiresome to again and again refute U.S. lies about Iran's civil nuclear program. But it is important to not let the propaganda win and to refute it every time it threatens to take the lead.
Bush yesterday said:
[I]t's up to Iran to prove to the world that they're a stabilizing force as opposed to a destabilizing force. After all, this is a government that has proclaimed its desire to build a nuclear weapon.
President Bush Participates in Joint Press Availability with President Karzai of Afghanistan, August 6, 2007
Will someone in the U.S. media please call this what it is - simply an outrageous lie?
Why is this a lie? Because the Iranian government has consistently proclaimed that it does NOT desire to build a nuclear weapon.
Here is, again, proof:
The Islamic Republic of Iran is a member of the IAEA and is committed to the NPT. All our nuclear activities are transparent, peaceful and under the watchful eyes of IAEA inspectors.
Transcript of Ahmadinejad's U.N. Speech, September 19, 2006
Hojatoleslam Mohsen Gharavian, a scholar at Qom Seminary, on Monday rejected rumors appearing on some websites quoting him as saying that the use of nuclear weapons is allowed according to the Islamic tenets.
[...]
The theologian, who was talking in an exclusive interview with IRNA, added, "We do not seek nuclear weapons and the Islamic religion encourages coexistence along with peace and friendship."
Islam forbids use of nuclear weapons: Theological scholar, 21-02-2006
Iran is a nuclear fuel cycle technology holder, a capability which is exclusively for peaceful purposes, read a statement issued by the Islamic Republic at the emergency meeting of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors here Tuesday evening.
The Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, has issued the fatwa that the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons are forbidden under Islam and that Iran shall never acquire these weapons, IRNA quoted from the statement.
Leader’s Fatwa Forbids Nukes, Aug 11, 2005
Led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the nation's "supreme leader," Iranian clerics have repeatedly declared that Islam forbids the development and use of all weapons of mass destruction.
"The Islamic Republic of Iran, based on its fundamental religious and legal beliefs, would never resort to the use of weapons of mass destruction," Khamenei said recently. "In contrast to the propaganda of our enemies, fundamentally we are against any production of weapons of mass destruction in any form."
Nuclear weapons unholy, Iran says Islam forbids use, clerics proclaim, October 31, 2003
So will the media tell us that Bush lied?
Don't wait for it ...
(x-posted at Moon of Alabama)