Iran's Foreign Minister Responds

Surprise! Iran is a vibrant democracy, not a thugocracy! Bush got it wrong! Here's the Iranian foreign minister's response to the President's allegations against Iran in last night's SOTU, courtesy of Al Jazeera:

Iran’s State News Agency, IRNA, quoted Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, as saying that “Mr. Bush has forgotten that the great Iranian people, through the Islamic revolution 26 years ago, put an end to the dominant influence and presence of the United States in Iran,"

Asefi also said that Bush was "closing his eyes to the realities of the Islamic republic with its deep-rooted freedom and democracy".

He added that Bush’s remarks had "nothing to do with Iran's vibrant society" and only served "to further discredit the American government".

The U.S. President also called Iran the "world's primary state sponsor of terror" [apparently Asefi didn't respond to this charge] and repeated his allegations that Tehran was seeking nuclear weapons.

In response to the nuclear charges, Asefi said that "These claims have no basis”. [Yes, poor oil-starved Iran needs nuke-generated electricity.]

So now you know.