TEHRAN, January 17 (RIA Novosti) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad demanded Tuesday that an order suspending U.S. news channel CNN from working in the country be reversed.
The Ministry of Islamic Culture and Guidance issued the order Monday, saying CNN had violated professional ethics by distorting recent statements made by the president. A correspondent claimed on January 14 that Ahmadinejad had said the Islamic Republic had the right to build nuclear weapons, whereas he had really said it had the right to develop nuclear energy.
CNN apologized for the mistake.
The presidential press service quoted Ahmadinejad as saying that although the channel had made an obvious mistake, which was at odds with the media's mission to defend people's right to information about events and opinions, the company's work in Iran should be resumed now that the channel had apologized.
According to the press service, the Iranian government and people support the idea of a stable world and peace for all of humanity, based on justice and spiritual development. It continued that instead of weapons of mass destruction, the modern world needed logic, morality, and justice, which Iran was seeking.
Iran's nuclear plans have become the subject of increasing concern among other nations, particularly since it announced last week that it would restart a nuclear research program, which was originally suspended more than two years ago.
Some countries, notably the United States and Israel, have expressed fears that Tehran could use the research to build nuclear weapons.
Iran has consistently said that it wants to acquire the technology only for peaceful purposes, but calls have mounted for the UN to impose sanctions against the country for abandoning its nuclear research moratorium.
