Ahmadinejad hails Iran’s growing achievements

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has hailed the Iranian nation’s great achievements in various fields of aerospace and nuclear energy as signs of the country’s growing capabilities on the path of progress.

The Iranian chief executive on Tuesday pointed to Iranians’ capabilities in placing different types of satellites into orbit, and underlined the government’s focus on promoting hope and self-confidence among the Iranian youths.

Since 2009, when Iran launched its first domestically-produced satellite, Omid (hope), into orbit, the country has launched different satellites including, Rasad (Observation), and Navid-e Elm-o Sanat (Harbinger of Science and Industry) into space.

Tehran also plans to launch the country’s first manned mission to space by 2019.

Commenting on Iran’s advances in the area of nuclear technology, Ahmadinejad said the country’s young scientists have so far produced about 20 radioisotopes, 15 of which have been approved by health officials and are being used by people.

Despite the widely publicized claims by the US, Israel and some of their European allies that Iran’s nuclear energy program may include a military aspect, Iran says its nuclear energy program is exclusively for civilian purposes.

The Islamic Republic argues that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful objectives.

The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence indicating that Tehran’s nuclear energy program has been diverted towards nuclear weapons production.