Full Speech of Iranian President Ahmedinejad in Mashad [Eng] - 07.16.2009

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Iran's president lashes out at Western powers for their opposition to the outcome of the June 12 presidential election. In a Thursday address to thousands of people in the northeastern city of Mashad, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the West has gone as far as setting up satellite channels to influence Iranians against their better judgment. Ahmadinejad, who was speaking during his first provincial trip after the June 12 presidential vote, said foreign countries have no right to insult the choice made during the election. "During the whole election process, certain foreign countries attempted to push the country to the brink of civil war," argued Ahmadinejad. Iran turned into a scene of opposition rallies after the re-election of president Ahmadinejad with nearly two-thirds of the vote. President Ahmadinejad's rivals -- Mehdi Karroubi and Mir-Hossein Mousavi -- reject the election result as fraudulent and have yet to acknowledge the Iranian president's re-election. On June 20, the unrest over the result of the vote took a turn for the worse after protesters, who demanded a re-run of the 10th presidential election, gathered to hold a rally without the official permission of the country's Interior Ministry. The day turned bloody -- increasing the post-vote deaths to at least 20 -- when, according to Iranian officials, terrorist elements infiltrated the rallies. Ahmadinejad went on to say that the West has trouble tolerating an independent nation that takes a stand against their policies. He said Iran would respond to any aggressors in a way that they would forget how to return home. "I have told the enemies that this nation will strike you in the face so hard you will lose your way home," he said. The president said the high voter turnout in the recent elections has caught Westerners off guard and "has foiled all their evil plans". On the Iranian nuclear issue, Ahmadinejad said that his government would remain open to "logic and dialogue" to end the international deadlock. He, however, issued a warning. "If each and every one of the Western countries that oppose Iran's nuclear program joins forces, they would still fail to deprive the Iranian nation of its inalienable nuclear rights," he said.

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