Iran to Delay Nuclear Talks Until August

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad waves to the media as he arrives for his press conference at the presidency, in Tehran, Iran, 28 Jun 2010.

Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Iran will not hold talks on its nuclear program until August because of new economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations, European Union, and United States.

Mr. Ahmadinejad told reporters Monday that the delay is meant as a “punishment,” to teach Western powers a lesson about how to hold a dialogue with Iran.

Earlier, Iran’s foreign ministry said remarks about Iran’s nuclear program by the director of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency amount to what it called “psychological warfare.”

A spokesman made the statement in Tehran Monday, a day after CIA Director Leon Panetta’s assertion that Iran has enough fissile material to build two nuclear weapons within two years.  

The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said Panetta’s remarks were meant to create negative perceptions about Iran’s nuclear program, which Tehran says is for peaceful purposes only.

Panetta said on U.S. television Sunday that targeted economic sanctions against Iran are not likely to deter it from seeking to develop nuclear weapons.

But he also said new sanctions imposed on Iran by the U.N. Security Council, the U.S. and the European Union could create serious economic problems and help weaken the Iranian government.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev said Sunday the U.S. assertions needed to be checked, but that if true would create further tension.  He spoke at the Group of 20 summit in Toronto.

Russia has traditionally allied itself with Iran, but Mr. Medvedev has expressed increasing concern over its nuclear program