September 25, 2008	Thursday	Ramazan 24, 1429

NEW YORK, Sept 24: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that the problem of terrorism in Pakistan and Afghanistan needs ‘negotiated settlement’ and not a ‘military solution’.

“Foreign troops in Afghanistan have always left in defeat. The British left in disgrace and the Soviets also left in defeat. There is no guarantee that Nato troops will do any better,” he said at a press conference when asked to weigh in on the situation in Pakistan following the Marriott Hotel bombing in Islamabad.

Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan, he said, had historical and cultural ties. “We are part of a larger family. Anyone who disturbs this political equilibrium in this region would fall headlong to the ground.”

On threats by Israel to destroy Iran’s nuclear facilities, the Iranian leader said Iran was a peace-loving nation, but if someone raised a hand against it, that hand would be cut off “completely and definitely”.

Responding to questions about Iran’s nuclear programme, President Ahmadinejad said that “it was a politicised issue and not a legal one”.

On the United Nations Security Council’s threat of sanctions, he said that Iran’s opponents should stop using the language of force.

“Countries with nuclear arsenals should change their behaviour towards other nations. Iran is a big nation, which can manage itself quite well.”