Iran issues new bank note with nuclear symbol

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Source: CCTV.com | 03-13-2007 11:25

Iran has issued a new bank note with a nuclear symbol printed on one side of it. Some see this as a sign of Tehran's determination to press ahead with uranium enrichment despite the threat of international sanctions.

The new note for 50,000 rials, worth about five US dollars forty cents, has a nuclear symbol appearing within a map of Iran.

The brief text next to the symbol is a quotation from the Prophet Muhammad which highlights Iran's commitment to pursue technology at all costs.

The note also bears a portrait of the father of the 1979 Islamic Revolution, the late Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini.

And people in Tehran are showing mixed reactions to the new note.

Masoud Bahramian, Tehran resident, said, "It is a very nice design and shows our national resistance and we can be proud of our national pride. It reminds us that we should resist until the end to achieve our nuclear right."

Mitra Shan Hosseini, Tehran resident, said, "I think because of the sensitivity that Western countries have over Iran's nuclear issue, it is not a good move and increases pressure on our country."

The UN Security Council imposed sanctions on Iran in December after it ignored a resolution demanding that it stop enriching uranium.

Iran continues to maintain its nuclear programme is peaceful. But the US and its European allies fear that Tehran's real aim is to produce nuclear weapons.

Editor:Du Xiaodan