The FINANCIAL -- Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced on March 5 a substantial increase in the country's funding for sports, saying athletes were the future of the country, not nuclear weapons, according to RIA Novosti.

"I have repeatedly said that our atomic bombs are our youth and athletes. A nation that possesses determination, intellect, culture and civilization doesn't need to make atomic bombs," Press TV quoted Ahmadinejad as saying.

"Those who suffer from an inferiority complex and lack a historical past and civilization are the ones that claim they need atomic bombs," he added.

He announced a fivefold increase in the country's sports budget next year and ordered Iran's top sports official, Ali Saeedlou, to remove the existing barriers for the country's athletes and provide them with best coaches.

"We must not only win the Asian championships but also think about becoming world champions," he said.

Four athletes represented Iran at the Vancouver Olympics, including the country's first female Winter Olympian, Marjan Kalhor, who was the team's flag bearer at the opening ceremony. The Iranian team won no medals at the games.

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