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Source: http://memri.org/bin/latestnews.cgi?ID=IA171407
Ahmadinejad Escalates His Rhetoric
[MEMRI] Y. Mansharof and A. Savyon - In a speech about Iran's nuclear program, Ahmadinejad declared that Iran has become a global power, and that it would place its nuclear technology at the service of those determined to confront the U.S. and other Western countries. He announced that Iran was now successfully operating over 3,000 centrifuges, continued to downplay the impact of the UN Security Council sanctions on Iran, and reiterated Iran's official stance of refusal to freeze its nuclear activity. In addition, Ahmadinejad declared that the world was now at an historic turning point. The history of the West, he said, had reached its end, and the appearance of the Hidden Imam, heralding the era of Islamic Shi'ite rule, was nigh. Thus, he called on the nations of the world to rise up against the hegemony of the West, headed by the U.S., and predicted the imminent collapse of Israel, which he called "Satan's standard-bearer."