Islamic Republic President: US Seeking to Sabotage Pakistan’s N. Facilities

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad reiterated on Tuesday that Washington is seeking to sabotage and damage Pakistan’s nuclear facilities in a bid to undermine the country’s security and sovereignty and prolong its military presence in the region.
“We have precise information that the US is seeking to sabotage Pakistan’s nuclear facilities in a move to weaken the Pakistani nation and government to dominate that country,” Ahmadinejad said in a press conference here in Tehran.

He also underlined that Americans also want to use the UN Security Council and other international bodies and organizations as a leverage to pave the way for their extended military deployment in the region and also to weaken Pakistan’s national sovereignty.

Ahmadinejad’s remarks came nearly two weeks after NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said that security of Pakistan’s nuclear weapons is a matter of concern.

“I feel confident that Pakistan’s nuclear arsenal is safe and well protected,” said Rasmussen late May, but meantime added, “But of course it is a matter of concern and we follow the situation closely.”

Senior officials in Islamabad have repeatedly dismissed such concerns, saying Pakistani nukes are in safe hands.

Analysts say the US and its Western allies are preparing the grounds for widespread military presence in Pakistan.

They also believe the US is looking for an excuse to expand its military operations in the troubled Southern and Central Asian regions to secure its bases near Russia and China.

This comes as India and Pakistan have been locked in intense rivalry since they gained independence from Britain in 1947.

India and Pakistan have occasionally tested conventional and unconventional weapons over the past years.

New Delhi conducted its first nuclear test in 1974, followed by five more in 1998. Islamabad conducted its sixth nuclear tests in 1998.

Both neighbors have refused to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and other international treaties that restrict the development or testing of nuclear weapons.