Lecturer: Iran needs nukes

An Iranian college lecturer has told a conference in Tehran the nation needs an atomic bomb and that leaders made a huge mistake by signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, of NPT.

According to the Iranian Labour News Agency, the speaker, professor Abumohammad Asgarkhani, told the conference: “We are in need of atomic bombs and so far we have neglected this subject.”

According to the report, the conference, entitled “Nuclear Issues and National Security,” was organized by the Islamic Association of Tehran University and Tehran University of Medical Science.

Asgarkhani, a professor of international relations, predicted Iran’s reticence to more quickly develop nukes will cost the citizens of the nation dearly.

“There are a few shameful treaties in Iran’s history, and [the endorsing of] the Additional Protocol [to the NPT] is one of them,” he is quoted as saying, “more shameful than the [1828] Torkmanchai Treaty [with Russia] and the [1975] Algiers Agreement [with Iraq], and only the people of Iran will face its consequences, the first of which will be the change of regime in Iran and the second one, the tearing of Iran into pieces.”

Asgarkhani slammed the NPT, saying Iran has been shortchanged.

“The NPT has divided the world into two groups, the haves and the have-nots,” he said. “Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have joined the haves, but we are still part of the have-nots. We are always on the train that takes the haves to any destination they wish to go.”

Referring to requirements Iran currently must meet, the lecturer said, “We have made many commitments without receiving anything from them [Europe and the U.S.], and accordingly, with a 48-hour notice, they can inspect Iran’s most secret places.”

Asgarkhani then explains how he believes the current Muslim regime could lose power.

“When the September 11 [incident] happened, we went through three phases. The first phase was the attack on Afghanistan and the second one on Iraq. About 18 months prior to this attack, I said that the regime change in Iraq was inevitable and my predictions came true. As regards the Islamic republic [of Iran], they want to frighten the regime and then disarm it, the consequence of which will be the erosion of the regime’s legitimacy inside the country.”