mr president first of all i congratulate mr belder on his excellent report
iran has the potential influence and wealth to be either a force for good or a force for evil in the greater middle east
regrettably its regime has become a force for evil masquerading in religious garb
iran's nuclear weapon programme is cause for enormous regional and international concern
iran has become a source of extremist doctrine it carries out and sponsors acts of international terrorism has a dangerous influence on populations of young shias in the gulf states in iraq and in lebanon and does not hesitate to ally with sunni terrorist groups in gaza and beyond
it has helped train and arm terrorists that have attacked nato forces in afghanistan and it is a human rights abuser
it would be tragically ironic if a tyranny such as iran became the main beneficiary of the desire for greater freedom that we have seen so dramatically expressed across the arab world in recent weeks and in a most sickening example of hypocrisy i am just finishing mr president president ahmadinejad has told the egyptian people that they have the right to express their own views about their country
