Ahmadinejad Will Declare 'National Celebration Day' If Sanctions Imposed

On October 11, 2006, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that he would declare "a national celebration day" when the possible sanctions were imposed on the Islamic Republic, the Iranian state-run television reported. "The day when sanctions are imposed on Iran by our enemies would be a national celebration day for the Iranian nation," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying in a speech to a large crowd in Tehran's south town of Robat Karim. "We have achieved nuclear technology under sanctions," he stressed, showing a insensibility to the possible sanctions by international community.

In his speech, he also said sanctions placed on Iran for the last 27 years have made the country only progress further. "They have warned us that if we do not suspend enrichment, they will impose sanctions on Iran. But they must know that when they sanctioned us 27 years ago, they actually gifted progress to us. If they hadn't sanctioned us, we wouldn't have grown self-sufficient. And now they must know that if they impose sanctions on us, we will certainly make further progress. Sanctions make us self-reliant," Ahmadinejad said.