Free Republic

Iran is ready to strike a uranium enrichment deal if the United States and the West respect the Islamic Republic and stop making threats, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says. "Everything is possible, 400 kilos, 800 kilos, it's nothing," he told AFP on Friday in a new gesture to end the nuclear standoff. "But not in a climate where they threaten us. They have to change their vocabulary, in respect and legality. "In this case we will say, very good you want to keep your word, in this case we are ready to sit down at the table to reach an agreement,"...

Iran’s Supreme Leader will officially endorse President Ahmadinejad’s re-election on Monday as the regime faces a fresh barrage of protests — this time over the “show trial” of more than 100 opposition figures detained in the crackdown that followed the hotly disputed ballot. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei will approve Mr Ahmadinejad’s second term during a televised ceremony in Tehran attended by other regime leaders, and on Wednesday the President will take the oath of office before Iran’s parliament. Seven weeks after the election, however, the regime is still battling to crush the resistance of millions of Iranians who believe that the...

Iran's supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was quoted Sunday as praising Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad for "standing up to" the West in a dispute over the country's nuclear program, amid growing domestic criticism of the president's management. Khamenei offered unusually glowing praise of Ahmadinejad, who upon his election in 2005 sparked a confrontation with the West by resuming uranium enrichment and also prompted worldwide condemnation for denouncing Israel. The country's spiritual leader has rarely, if ever, expressed such support for any other Iranian politician.