Iranian presidential hopeful Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel says Washington is using Iran\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s peaceful nuclear drive as an excuse to impose pressure on the country.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cThe Americans are using our peaceful nuclear activities as a pretext to exert pressure [on Iran],\u201d Haddad-Adel said in an exclusive interview with Press TV.\n<\/p>\n
The United States is well aware of the peaceful nature of Iran\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s nuclear energy program but resorts to propaganda campaigns to realize its goals, he noted.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cThe United States knows that we have no intention of using our nuclear activities for military purposes. The Americans are just using the nuclear issue as an excuse to put pressure on us, and they are using it as a propaganda tool around the world,\u201d he added.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Elsewhere in his remarks, Haddad-Adel stated that the West wants all countries to be subservient and is promoting US-style democracy.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cThey (the Western countries) want a kind of democracy favored by the US. This means that if a democracy produces a government which does not submit to the US, they will not regard it as a [real] democracy,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
He went on to say that Iran’s elections have always been a manifestation of real democracy that has given the lie to the West\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s efforts to give the impression that Iran is an undemocratic country.\n<\/p>\n
\u00c5\u201cElections in Iran have shown that the country is the pioneer of and a role model for religious democracy in the world\u2026 The West would like to see a botched election in Iran in order to make the accusation that there is no democracy in the country, and the Iranian establishment lacks legitimacy. But the Iranian people are aware of that, and their massive turnout will be a clear manifestation of democracy to the world,\u201d he said.\n<\/p>\n
Haddad-Adel is one of the 686 individuals who have signed up as presidential hopefuls.\n<\/p>\n
The registration of hopefuls for Iran\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s 11th presidential vote began on Tuesday March 7 at Iran\u00e2\u201e\u00a2s Interior Ministry and ended on Saturday March 11.\n<\/p>\n
The president of Iran is elected for a four-year term in a national election, and the Guardian Council vets the candidates to determine if they have the qualifications to serve as president.\n<\/p>\n
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