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Iran's ultra-conservative president elect said last night that he wants "fair"
relations with the entire world, but warned western nations not to issue demands
to his country, which the US accuses of wanting to build nuclear weapons.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's speech came during an exclusive interview with state-run
Iranian television and indicated the new Iranian leader's apparent determination
to not bow to US demands to curtail his country's nuclear programme.
"We are urging fair relations with the world, but people are being blocked
by some who claim they promote democracy and freedom but act vice versa when
they deal with Iranians," Mr Ahmadinejad said in an apparent reference
to the US.
Mr Ahmadinejad also said that his surprise landslide election win last month was
a message from Iranians to "the world that they want to be independent".
"They [the west] still think like landlords of a century ago," he said."Landlords
expected their peasants just to listen to their words. But the period of one-sided
decision-making is over. Our nation does not accept imposed relations."
Mr Ahmadinejad, whose election raised fears in Iran and abroad that Iran would
take an even tougher line with the west, urged unity among Iranian political
groups.
"All political groups and parties must accompany our nation and domestic
and foreign issues should be solved by people power," he said.
He provided few details about his political agenda, but said choosing cabinet
ministers was his most important task at the moment. He mentioned no likely
candidates.
The former mayor of Tehran replaced Mohammad Khatami, the pro-reformist president
of eight years.
Reformists claimed that candidates supporting political, democratic and economic
reform in Iran were unfairly barred from taking part in the latest polls.