A day after US President Barack Obama offered a new approach to relations with Iran, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the US must apologise for past "crimes" committed against his country if it seeks a thaw in relations.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has earned criticism from the UK Foreign Office and from Israel, whose ambassador in London called an alternative Christmas speech by Ahmadinejad broadcast on British TV a "national embarrassment".
Middle East experts are divided on the subtext of statements by Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and Hamas leader Ismaïl Haniyeh in support of Barack Obama's election to the US presidency.
The Iranian parliament has voted to sack Interior Minister Ali Kordan for presenting a fake degree from a British university. Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad condemned a campaign to destabilize his government.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared that Iran would not budge "one iota" from its nuclear rights on Saturday, as an informal deadline set by the West regarding Tehran's nuclear ambitions passed.
Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the country would "stand against" its enemies "with its power". Israeli Deputy PM Shaul Mofaz warned that Iran's nuclear capability is headed for a "breakthrough."
Iran's leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said his country will not retreat in the face of demands by world powers to stop sensitive nuclear work. His statement came moments before a deadline for Iran to freeze uranium enrichment or face fresh sanctions.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that Iranian has "more than 5000 active centrifuges," flying in the face of three sets of sanctions from the UN Security Council to halt uranium enrichment.
On a farewell tour of Europe, US President George W. Bush said all options remain on the table as Washington weighs up how to deal with the Iranian nuclear program. With sanctions failing to shift Tehran's position, is it time for military action?
