Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili addresses a group of his supporters in the southwestern city of Ahvaz on June 3, 2013.[/caption]Presidential candidate Saeed Jalili says uranium enrichment activities of the Islamic Republic of Iran should reach full capacity.
Addressing a group of his supporters in the southwestern city of Ahvaz on Monday evening, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council said Tehran is now among the top ten nuclear nations in the world due to its resistance and young scientists.
The chief nuclear negotiator further noted that Iran's enemies are using the nuclear energy issue as a pretext to threaten and pressure Iran.
The United States, Israel, and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran rejects the allegation, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Jalili warned that crude oil reserves will eventually dry up and therefore Iran should make every effort to wean its economy off petrodollars.
He said it is possible to curb consumer price hikes by keeping liquidity in check and boosting domestic production.
Tehran Mayor Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, President of the Center for Strategic Research of the Expediency Council Hassan Rohani, MP Gholam-Ali Haddad-Adel, former Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Velayati, Expediency Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, former First Vice President Mohammad Reza Aref, and former Telecommunications Minister Mohammad Gharazi are Jalilis seven rivals.
Iranians will go to the polls in the countrys 11th presidential election on June 14.
Nearly 50.5 million Iranians are eligible to vote in the upcoming presidential election, with more than 1.6 million first-time voters.
By Press TV
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