On this week's edition of Joytv's The Standard: Don't fear our nuclear
ambitions, says leading Iranian politician

VANCOUVER, March 11 /CNW/ - Iran has no ambitions to become a nuclear weapons state, says one of the country's most prominent politicians.

Parviz Kazemi, former Minister of Welfare for the Islamic Republic of Iran and a rumoured contender for the presidency in the next election (slated for 2013), is the guest on this week's edition of the Joytv 10 current affairs flagship The Standard.

The Standard airs Friday, March 12 at 9 p.m. PST on Joytv 10 in Vancouver. It repeats on Sunday, March 14 at 8 p.m. PST, right after 60 Minutes.

Kazemi, who was ousted from Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's cabinet in November 2006, threw his support behind reformist challenger Mir Hossein Mousavi in last year's disputed presidential election.

He tells The Standard's host, Peter W. Klein, that Western fears about Iranian nuclear activities are misplaced: "We are moving towards scientific nuclearization. I would like to reassure everyone in the West that the Iranian nuclear program is not a military one and is not going to be a military one. We might have the ability or capability to become a military nuclear power, but we're not going to use that capacity to become a nuclear power in that sense."

Asked if he intends to make a bid for the presidency in 2013, Kazemi affirms that "if the time is ripe and the conditions are appropriate, I would give it serious thought."

While Iran's youth have emerged as a major force for change in the country, Kazemi says that young people remain committed to the ideals of the 1979 Islamic revolution: "You notice in the recent developments that the younger generation, when they wanted to make their presence felt publicly, they were using religious slogans or religious symbols ... When they want to express their feelings, they are still depending on religious norms and religious concepts."

    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    

Also on this week's edition of The Standard: a former spokesman for the Bush administration says the U.S. electorate may be experiencing a degree of buyer's remorse.

Asked about President Barack Obama's sagging poll numbers, former White House Deputy Press Secretary Scott Stanzel says: "There were a lot of expectations coming out of the 2008 election, and I'm not sure that a lot of people had a full awareness of the policies that he planned to pursue as president. Undoubtedly, his message of change in the 2008 election was one that voters identified with, and it largely brought him to victory. But once you start putting policy behind your (words), that's when people are going to start to choose sides."

Of the war in Iraq, Stanzel says: "Had we known there would be no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, maybe there would've been a different approach. But you deal with the facts that you have at the time that you have them."

    
    -------------------------------------------------------------------------
    

Emmy Award-winning broadcast journalist Peter W. Klein, a veteran of CBS's 60 Minutes, is the host of The Standard. Produced in Vancouver, The Standard offers unique insight into our complex world. The hour-long show features hard-hitting interviews with newsmakers and personalities from all walks of life, and delivers a no-holds-barred perspective on a wide range of subjects, including politics, religion and entertainment.

For more on The Standard, please visit http://thestandardtv.ca or http://thestandardwithklein.ning.com/

For further information: Media contact: David Todd, Media Relations Manager, Joytv, [email protected], [phone] ext 207; For more Joytv 10 programming information, please visit www.joytv.ca; Follow Joytv on Twitter: http://twitter.com/Joytv