Iran and Zimbabwe strike nuclear deal.....

Uranium for oil...

Iran has struck a nuclear mining deal with Zimbabwe, The Sunday Telegraph reported Sunday as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was visiting Africa.

According to the UK paper, the deal was sealed in Teheran in March by a close aide of Zimbabwe's president, Robert Mugabe. The agreement will reportedly entail Zimbabwe to provide Iran with access to deposits of uranium ore in return for oil.

"Iran secured the exclusive uranium rights last month, when the minister of state for presidential affairs, Didymus Mutasa, visited Teheran," a Zimbabwean official told the Telegraph.

Iran's president is in Africa this week to build alliances to evade stronger UN sanctions for his country's nuclear program, ease its international isolation and strengthen its economy.

On Saturday, Ahmadinejad flouted any more United Nations sanctions on his nuclear program as illegal, insisting he would not submit to any such pressure based on the United States and Britain "lying" about the evidence.

The Iranian leader, wrapping up two days of talks with Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni, lambasted the Western allies for pressing for another round of UN Security Council sanctions against Iran.He let loose when asked by an Associated Press reporter to discuss his effort to evade more UN sanctions by meeting with Uganda, a non-permanent member of the 15-nation council. The council is preparing to consider a fourth round of sanctions on Teheran for its nuclear defiance.

"The nuclear issue of Iran has turned into a big test for the entire world," Ahmadinejad said, adding that the US and Britain "say they are concerned about the building of a nuclear bomb, but they are lying like the other previous lies.