Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin
Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin has accused the Western powers of trying to topple the Iranian government under the cover of fighting nuclear proliferation.
"Under the guise of trying to prevent the spread of weapons of mass destruction... they (Western powers) are attempting something else entirely and setting different goals -- regime change," Putin said on Friday.
He reiterated that Moscow is taking a different stance from what the West is trying to impose on it.
"We have such suspicions," the Russian premier said, adding, "And we are trying to take a stand that differs from the one they are trying to force on us” about Iran’s nuclear issue.
Putin's comments come as the latest US intelligence report on Iran's nuclear energy program has confirmed its peaceful nature.
The Los Angeles Times said on Thursday that a consensus report by 16 US intelligence agencies shows Iran has not tried to build any nuclear weapons and that there has been no diversion in its atomic energy program.
The United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear program and have used this pretext to push for four rounds of UN sanctions and a series of unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Iran has refuted the allegations, arguing that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
Tel Aviv and Washington have also recently ramped up their war rhetoric, threatening Iran with military strikes in case the US-engineered sanctions against the country fail to force Tehran into abandoning its civilian nuclear program.
Iranian officials have promised a crushing response to any military strike against the country, warning that any such measure could result in a war that would spread beyond the Middle East.
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