Iranian president says not to take Clinton's words "seriously"

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday that he did not take U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's words that Iran was moving towards a military dictatorship seriously.


Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad attends a press conference in Teheran, capital of Iran, Feb. 16, 2010. (Xinhua/Ahmad Halabisaz)
Talking to the reporters in a news conference broadcast live in the state IRIB TV, Ahmadinejad said that "we don't take her comments seriously."

Rejecting Clinton's Monday comments that Iran is "moving towards a military dictatorship," he said that "the military budget of the United States is over 80 times more than that of Iran's."

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned in Doha on Monday that Iran is "moving toward a military dictatorship," saying that "the Revolutionary Guard, we believe, in fact, is supplanting the government of Iran."

"We are planning to bring the world community together to impose pressure on Iran through sanctions adopted by the United Nations," she added.

Tehran reiterated its displeasure with what Tehran says the West's attempts to back Iranian opposition and to destabilize the country.

Source: Xinhua