Iranian President-elect Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, an Islamic hardliner, has vowed that Iran will press ahead with its nuclear program. "We need this technology for energy and medical purposes. We shall carry on with it," Ahmadinejad said in his first news conference since defeating Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani. He said the nuclear program is “preserving national interests.” Israel is worried. "Faced with the Iranian nuclear threat, the international community must, more than before, formulate a unified and stern policy toward Iran,"