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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — An Iranian supercomputer. New space
rockets and satellites carrying the flag of the Islamic Republic.
Biotech innovations that include artificial tendons.

Iran's
claims of scientific advances are coming at a rapid-fire pace these days
as the country begins events to mark the anniversary of the 1979
Islamic Revolution.

It's become part of annual celebrations of
scholarship and military might. But this year, there is an added message
to the West after the latest talks over Iran's nuclear program fizzled
in January: Tehran's ability to make atomic fuel remains at the heart of
the country's drive for home-grown technology.

"The government's
support for science and technology is an unchangeable strategy," said
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad last month at a high-tech trade exhibition
in Tehran. "This includes the nuclear efforts."

It's hardly a
new statement from the Islamic Republic, which has repeatedly insisted
it will not negotiate over its right for uranium enrichment under
international pacts. This message, however, be reinforced strongly in
the coming days as officials boast about Iran's innovations.
It also
offers an important lesson in how much political capital is vested in
Iran's effort to stake its claim as the scientific vanguard of the
Muslim world.

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