FM Reiterates Civilian Nature of Iran’s N. Program

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said Tehran pursues a peaceful nuclear program and will do its best to protect Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Speaking at a meeting with New Japanese Ambassador to Iran Koji Haneda here in Tehran on Sunday, Salehi said Iranian nuclear program is of civilian nature.

He also stressed the necessity to reinforce the NPT to protect international peace.

Iran is using nuclear technology for economic development therefore it does its best to protect international peace and the context of the NPT, the Iranian minister underscored.

During the meeting, Haneda stated the Islamic Republic of Iran is “an important player in the Middle East region” and expressed his countries interest in enhanced economic cooperation with Iran.

In similar remarks earlier this month, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad underlined the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program, and said the country doesn’t seek to produce atomic weapons because it believes that nuclear arms are useless and inefficient in the contemporary world.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran doesn’t possess atomic bombs and is never after this weapon as it believes that this weapon has not efficiency (any more),” Ahmadinejad said in a meeting with new Swedish Ambassador to Tehran Peter Tiller.

“Atomic bomb has never been able to solve the economic and social problems of the European states like France and Britain while these countries incur huge costs for their storage and maintenance,” he added.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has always said that it does not have any motivation for building nuclear arms, and it has never been after nuclear weapons.

However, despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West’s calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment.