The following are excerpts from a press conference held by President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and President of Venezuela Hugo Chavez in Tehran. The press conference was aired on the Iranian News Channel (IRINN) on July 30, 2006:
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad: "Fortunately, my dear brother Mr. Chavez holds revolutionary and lofty points of view. In this we are in complete agreement. We consider the economies of our countries to be complementary, rather than competing economies."
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Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez: "Why don't they [Israel] look for an army, and confront it like a real army? If you want war, look for a real army to fight. If they want war, because of the demons inside them, why don't they behave like a soldier? I am a soldier. Come up against us soldiers. But what cowardice, to bomb a shelter with women and children, who don't even have a stone with which to defend themselves. How valiant the Israeli pilots must feel when they act this way. I tell you, from here, from Tehran, 1,000 times: Assassins, cowards. But, in all honesty, they are totally condemned. From the depths of the soul of the peoples, a force will emerge that will put an end to imperialism and all its lackeys."
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"This brings to mind something said by Bolivar, our liberating father. When they assassinated [General] Sucre, one of the great liberators of South America, Bolivar said: 'They have killed the Abel of Colombia.' Abel...Cain and Abel... He said a sentence directed at God. Bolivar said that day: 'God, if there is any justice, send a bolt of lightning from Your hands upon the monsters.' I say today, 'God, if there is any justice, send bolts of lightning from Your hands upon the monsters.' Allah willing…"
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Ahmadinejad: "We, along with all the peoples and free human beings, condemn this cowardly and despicable behavior. We believe that those primarily responsible for these crimes are the ones who established this corrupt regime, those who support it and encourage it and who use it to control the peoples. We believe that these crimes are bringing this corrupt regime and its supporters quickly to their end. America and England must answer for these crimes. This has been registered in the memory and history of the peoples. Allah willing, the hand of divine power will emerge from the sleeve of the peoples and will avenge the blood that has been unjustly shed. It has become clear once again that all the slogans of human rights, peace, and democracy are nothing but a lie. The rule of hegemony is making a huge error if it thinks that through these crimes and bloodshed it can tighten its rule over the peoples of the region. They are badly mistaken. They should know that they are nearing the last days of their lives. These crimes have disturbed the conscience of mankind. We too repeat the prayer of Simon Bolivar. We ask God to give the free peoples such power that will enable them to erase the rule of hegemony from the face of the earth. That day is near. Allah willing."
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Chavez: "Don't I have the book over there? That book I got as a gift from Fidel Castro -The Era of Hydrogen. I think you know it. It moved me. It's a really good book. The Era of Hydrogen. The book is based on something that is called a hypothesis, a thesis. The petroleum will come to an end one day. As we know, petroleum is a non-renewable resource. We also know that terrible consumption has been unleashed, especially in the developed countries, and above all, in the U.S. The U.S. has scarcely 5% of the world's population, but it consumes over 20% of the energy produced throughout the planet. The towers of the whatchamacallit... the World Trade Center consume more electricity than almost all the cities in West and Central Africa."
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"This emphasizes the importance of an alternative source, an alternative energy to petroleum. I recently read in the press that the U.S. administration allocated I don't know how many billions of dollars to construct I don't know how many nuclear reactors in the next decade. The same is going on in Europe. So how can anybody say that Iran does not have the sovereign right to develop nuclear energy? Where did this come from? I believe all Third World countries should support Iran's resolute attitude in developing its atomic energy, because we have support for the future over there, technology for the future. Go see if the U.S. is willing to transfer this technology to you. They will never do this, like they have never done in the past. They are egotists. Iran, in contrast, is a Third World country. It is a member of OPEC. All OPEC members should support Iran. I go even further and say that I believe that OPEC as an organization should take upon itself nuclear energy projects and utilize financial resources and special projects to develop this energy and other alternatives."
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"We applaud Iran for its determination and decision to develop its atomic energy project."
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Ahmadinejad: "Some powers want to have a monopoly. For over three years, they have acted in a political and monopolistic way, and created problems and obstacles regarding Iran's nuclear case. Recently, they have made proposals to us. We said this is a step forward. It was decided that we would examine this thoroughly. We are still examining this. We will announce our position at the appropriate time. But the events in Lebanon and Palestine have had their effect on our examination. We must think harder and examine this in more depth. Therefore, I asked my associates to examine this in a more thorough and precise manner."
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"The Americans should not create problems for no reason in this case. The path of dialogue can resolve the problems. Finally, I would like to thank my dear brother Mr. Chavez, for his revolutionary positions and spirit. In the 24 hours he spent in Tehran, we felt we were hosting our brothers."
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"We have a long road ahead in battling the rule of hegemony. We are determined to walk together to the end of this road. We are certain that our peoples will be victorious."
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Voice over: "The highest medal of the Islamic Republic of Iran was awarded to the president of Venezuela, in gratitude for his courageous and valuable efforts to achieve a peace based on justice and his commendable positions against the rule of hegemony and his support for the efforts towards peace and independence in the various fields."
