Iran's nuclear fuel swap agreement with Turkey and Brazil was an opportunity that would not be repeated, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Tuesday. His warning came a day before the U.N. Security Council could vote to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Tehran over its nuclear works.
"We hope and still hope they will be able to use this opportunity, but we say this opportunity will not be repeated," he told a news conference in Istanbul, according to Reuters.
The Iranian leader said the United States should change its hardline stance. "We expected President (Barack) Obama to start a new policy of the United States. I'm not saying I'm totally disappointed but if he fails to make a change, the first ones to lose would be President Obama and the people of the United States," "We ... are ready to talk on every subject on the basis of mutual respect," he said.
Ahmadinejad also warned Russia for backing the draft sanctions. "There is no big problem, but they must be careful not to be beside the enemies of the Iranian people," Ahmadinejad said.
Ahmadinejad also reiterated support for Ankara in the wake of an Israeli commando operation to stop an aid convoy reaching the Gaza Strip. "If they think that by using machines guns you can stop an aid convoy, hundreds of aid convoys will soon sail through the waters to be harbingers of peace," Ahmadinejad said.
