Era of atomic bombs over: President Ahmadinejad

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the era of atomic bombs is over and the use of nuclear weapons will no longer influence political equations.

“The era of the atomic bomb is over. Atomic bombs are no longer useful and have no effect on political equations. Atomic bombs belong to the last century, and anyone who thinks he can rule the world by atomic bombs is a political fool,” Ahmadinejad said during his visit to Benin on Monday.

Ahmadinejad added that imperialism is what currently threatens the world, not nuclear weapons.

The Iranian president said world powers seek to maintain their monopoly over nuclear energy and are using propaganda tools to insinuate the idea that nuclear energy equates a nuclear bomb – which is “a big lie.”

“Nuclear energy is one thing and an atomic bomb is another. This useful energy must belong to all nations,” Ahmadinejad stated.

“We are fighting so that all nations could use peaceful nuclear energy,” the Iranian president said, adding that although monopolists were resisting, they would fail against the struggles of independent countries such as Iran, and African and Latin American states.

Those countries that possess large stockpiles of nuclear weapons deceptively claim that they are against the use of such arms, Ahmadinejad said. He added that if those countries oppose the use of nuclear weapons, they must not be in possession of the weapons.

Ahmadinejad left Tehran for a three-day tour of Africa on Sunday at the head of a high-ranking delegation.