Iran Derides Obama s Nuclear Stance
By Ali Akbar Dareini and George Jahn
04/08/2010
Boston Globe
Original Source: – HYPERLINK http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Foreign-Policy/2010/0302/Bluster-at-UN-Human-Rights-Council-as-US-and-Iran-trade-barbs http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2010/04/08/iran_derides_obamas_nuclear_stance/

US allies yesterday lined up behind President Obama s new policy aimed at reducing the likelihood of nuclear conflict. But Iran, classified as a possible target under the guidelines, dismissed it as a  cowboy   policy by a political newcomer doomed to fail.
President Dmitry Medvedev of Russia, in the Slovak capital, Bratislava, for an official visit, did not address the issue before leaving for Prague to sign a landmark treaty today with Obama aimed at paring US-Russian strategic nuclear weapons by 30 percent. But Washington s supporters in Asia and Europe welcomed Obama s pledge Tuesday to reduce America s nuclear arsenal, refrain from nuclear tests, and not use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them.
North Korea and Iran were not included in that pledge because they do not cooperate with other countries on nonproliferation standards.
The United States considers them nuclear rogues   Pyongyang for developing and testing nuclear weapons and Tehran because it is suspected of trying to do the same under the cover of a peaceful program, something Iran denies. Outlining the policy Tuesday, Robert M. Gates, US defense secretary, said the focus would now be on terror groups such as Al Qaeda as well as North Korea s nuclear buildup and Iran s nuclear ambitions.
Addressing thousands in the country s northwest, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran derided Obama.
 American materialist politicians, whenever they are beaten by logic, immediately resort to their weapons like cowboys,   Ahmadinejad said in a speech before a crowd of several thousand in northwestern Iran.
 Mr. Obama, you are a newcomer [to politics]. Wait until your sweat dries and get some experience. Be careful not to read just any paper put in front of you or repeat any statement recommended,   Ahmadinejad said in the speech, aired live on state TV.
Ahmadinejad said Obama  is under the pressure of capitalists and the Zionists,   and vowed Iran would not be pushed around.
American officials  bigger than you, more bullying than you, couldn t do a damn thing, let alone you,   he said, addressing Obama.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel, whose country is the only Mideast nation considered to have nuclear weapons, dismissed speculation the Jewish state could come under pressure.
 I m not concerned that anyone would think that Israel is a terrorist regime,   he said.  Everybody knows a terrorist and rogue regime when they see one, and believe me, they see quite a few around Israel.  
Washington s key European partners on its efforts to contain Iran s nuclear activities welcomed the Obama initiative.
Britain s defense secretary, Bob Ainsworth, said it  delivers strong progress   on pledges first made a year ago. Britain  looks forward to working closely with the US and other key allies and partners in the future,   Ainsworth added.
Bernard Valero, Foreign Ministry spokesman for France, said Obama s nuclear posture  is convergent with our views.  
Hailing the American policy review as a historic shift in US nuclear strategy, Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle of Germany urged Iran to see it   and today s planned Obama-Medvedev treaty signing   as a sign that the international community is  serious about disarmament.  
In Asia, key allies benefiting from being under the US nuclear defense umbrella expressed support, suggesting the Obama statement helped defuse concerns that they would be left vulnerable by a change in Washington s policy.
 This is a first step toward a nuclear-free world,   said Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama of Japan.
There was no immediate reaction to Obama s plan from North Korean state media.