In a shift from Iran’s traditional policy of limiting the number of children per family to two, Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad earlier this week called on his nation to “be fruitful and multiply.”

The Iranian leader made the statement in Tehran to several government ministers and legislators, saying that the country could support an additional 50 million residents, according to Reuters. Iran’s population currently stands at some 70 million.
 
"I disagree with those who say two children are enough," said Ahmadinejad.

"Our nation is capacious. It can sustain many more children and allow them to grow here. Iran can sustain as many as 120 million people," he was quoted as saying on the Iranian Student News Agency (ISNA).

He added that "Western countries have problems,” pointing out that their populations were decreasing and that the West is threatened by a possible baby boom in Iran.

Following the revolution in 1979, Iran’s population grew at a staggering rate of 3.2 percent – the fastest rate in the world—leading Iranian authorities to implement the two children per family limit.

© 2006 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)