Iran Upholds Right to ‘Self-Defense’
Iran will defend itself against any potential attack, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in an interview with CNN airing this Monday.
“Any nation has the right to, and will indeed, defend herself,” Ahmadinejad told CNN’s Piers Morgan on Sunday.
“The response of Iran [to an Israeli attack] is quite clear, I don’t even need to explain that.”
Asked whether he feared a war or military conflict with Israel was imminent, Ahmadinejad said: “The Zionists are very much, very adventuresome, very much seeking to fabricate things, and I think they see themselves at the end of the line and I do firmly believe that they seek to create new opportunities for themselves and their adventurous behaviors.”
“Another country can say, I am guessing that country B is doing activity X, therefore I will attack that country … can this be … a successful formula for the management of the world?”
Western nations suspect that Iran is seeking to build nuclear weapons. Tehran denies the charges and insists its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes.
Apple iPhone 5 First Weekend Sales Top Five Million
Apple has sold over five million new iPhones just three days after the iPhone 5 was launched on September 21, the U.S. electronics giant said on Monday.
“Demand for the iPhone 5 has been incredible, and we are working hard to get an iPhone 5 into the hands of every customer who wants one as quickly as possible,” Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said.
The iPhone 5, which is 18 percent thinner and 20 percent lighter than its immediate predecessor, boasts a four-inch screen with a 1,136 by 640 pixel resolution. The iPhone 5 also boasts faster Wi-Fi and a faster Apple A6 processor, the company said.
The iPhone family accounts for half of Apple’s revenue and the majority of its profit.
The iPhone 5 is currently available in the United States, Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Singapore and the United Kingdom, and is due to be launched in 22 more countries on September 28, finally becoming available in over 100 countries by the end of the year.
“While we have sold out of our initial supply, stores continue to receive iPhone 5 shipments regularly, and customers can order online and receive an estimated delivery date. We appreciate everyone’s patience and are working hard to build enough iPhone 5s for everyone,” Cook said.
Sales of the new iPhone could add between 0.25 percent and 0.5 percent to fourth quarter annualized GDP growth in the United States, J.P. Morgan’s Chief Economist Michael Feroli said in a note to clients.
Feroli added he expected Apple to sell 8 million iPhone 5s before the end of the year.
Putin Calls for State-private Partnership in Military Modernization
Russia’s military-industrial complex needs state-private partnership for industry modernization, Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Monday.
“So far, I have no joyful mood, to be honest. We know the problems of the weapon and ammunition industries,” Putin told Deputy Prime Minister in charge of the military-industrial sector Dmitry Rogozin.
During their meeting in the Black Sea resort of Sochi, Rogozin proposed to attract private capital as a solution to the problems plaguing the industry, the Kremlin press service said.
Putin stressed that only direct state support could help the military-industrial sector survive the process of modernization painlessly.
Meanwhile, the president urged the industry to attract more private investment and ensure the social welfare of its employees. “You know how acute here (these problems are). State support and guarantees must be given to these enterprises,” the Interfax news agency quoted Putin as saying.
“This is a sector which used to play, plays and will be playing a very important role in the country’s security,” he added.
The Russian government has allocated 20 trillion rubles (645 billion U.S. dollars) for a rearmament program that will last until 2020. The program envisions that 70 percent of the Russian armed forces’ weaponry and equipment will be up-to-date by the time of its completion.
Via PL