sarettah
09-08-2003, 11:26 AM
http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?p...d=1059479628821 (http://news.ft.com/servlet/ContentServer?pagename=FT.com/StoryFT/FullStory&c=StoryFT&cid=1059479628821)
Iranians puzzled as outsiders stay fretful
By Roula Khalaf
Published: September 8 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: September 8 2003 5:00
Faced with rising suspicions over its nuclear ambitions, Iran's clerical regime has adopted a strange defence: nuclear weapons, says the government in Tehran, are un-Islamic and therefore cannot be pursued by the Islamic Republic.
Some take the curious argument even further: "It's not human to have the atomic bomb," declares Amir Mohebian, a newspaper columnist who is considered an ideologue for the conservative faction in Iran's political establishment. "We want to follow policies that are in line with morality."
Ordinary Iranians are, however, dismissive of the public discourse. The prospect of an Iranian atomic bomb finds wide popular support, even among those who oppose the hardline clerics who control the levers of power.
Iranians puzzled as outsiders stay fretful
By Roula Khalaf
Published: September 8 2003 5:00 | Last Updated: September 8 2003 5:00
Faced with rising suspicions over its nuclear ambitions, Iran's clerical regime has adopted a strange defence: nuclear weapons, says the government in Tehran, are un-Islamic and therefore cannot be pursued by the Islamic Republic.
Some take the curious argument even further: "It's not human to have the atomic bomb," declares Amir Mohebian, a newspaper columnist who is considered an ideologue for the conservative faction in Iran's political establishment. "We want to follow policies that are in line with morality."
Ordinary Iranians are, however, dismissive of the public discourse. The prospect of an Iranian atomic bomb finds wide popular support, even among those who oppose the hardline clerics who control the levers of power.