Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Ali Larijani reiterated on
Monday that the Islamic republic never wanted to make nuclear
bombs, the official IRNA news agency reported.
"As we have already declared Iran never wants to produce nuclear
bombs," he told reporters at his joint press conference with
visiting head of the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution of
Iraq (SCIRI) Abd al-Aziz al-Hakim.
Larijani, who is also secretary of Iran's Supreme National
Security Council, stressed that Iran's nuclear program is civilian
and it is very vital for the country to produce nuclear energy.
"Those who seek to proliferate nuclear weapons never let
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors to monitor
their nuclear sites," he said.
He underlined that Iran's nuclear standoff with the West would
be resolved through negotiations and such negotiations could be
fruitful.
Meanwhile, Larijani confirmed that he will attend a major annual
security conference to be held in German city of Munich this
weekend, but dismissed the prospect of any talks with US
officials.
The new US Defense Secretary Robert Gates will lead a US
delegation to attend conference.
For his part, Hakim said that political debates between Iran and
the United States will be most beneficial to the entire Middle East
region.
"Such talks are of great significance considering the regional
situation and that all Iraqi officials believe the talks are
necessary," Hakim said.
The United States has persistently accused Iran of supporting
the Iraqi insurgents to fight with coalition forces since the fall
of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, but Tehran has denied it and
said such allegations were US deliberate intervention to the
Iran-Iraq ties.
Iran, the world's fourth largest oil exporter, also says it
needs to enrich uranium as a peaceful, alternative energy source
and has the right to do so under the nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty (NPT).
However, the West has accused Iran of trying to produce nuclear
weapons under a civilian cover, a charge denied by Tehran.
The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1737 on Dec. 23,
2006, demanding Iran to "suspend all enrichment-related and
reprocessing activities, including research and development, and
work on all heavy water-related projects."
However, Iran has rejected the resolution as an "illegal
measure" and vowed to continue the country's nuclear programs.
(Xinhua News Agency February 6, 2007)
