Ahmadinejad: Nuclear arms outdated

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says Tehran shuns nuclear weapons, stressing that nuclear deterrents have become outdated and unnecessary.

“A nuclear bomb would not grant anyone prestige or prominence and it is rather a cause for shame,” Ahmadinejad said on Wednesday, on the eve of a much-anticipated speech to the UN General Assembly.

“Even should they [the West] allow us to build an atomic bomb, we would never do so, because we consider it hazardous and it is against our [religious] beliefs,” the Iranian chief executive added.

The remarks were made at a meeting with US intellectuals and university lecturers in New York City, the president’s official website reported on Thursday.

Ahmadinejad further noted that Israel, widely regarded as the Middle East’s sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal, was proof that a nuclear deterrence was ornamental as “the era of using atomic bombs has ended.”

“Though, according to reports, the Zionist regime posses some 200 nuclear warheads, it was not able to use any of them in its conflicts with Lebanon and the Palestinians,” he said.

“Nuclear bombs could not even save the Soviet Union from disintegration, nor could it lead the US to a victory in Iraq,” the Iranian president added.

Hinting at recent US threats of a military strike against Iran, Ahmadinejad said “Iran is not concerned over America’s nuclear bombs, since they are useless… We are, however, concerned about the American nation since according to some reports 11 US nuclear bombs have so far gone missing [from its arsenal].”

Iran has repeatedly rejected Israel-led accusations that Tehran is following a military nuclear program, arguing that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation (NPT) Treaty, the country has the right to use peaceful nuclear energy.

Tehran has also called on the International Atomic Energy Agency not to be give in to “pressure,” amid efforts aimed at persuading Israel to sign the NPT and allow UN inspections of its cryptic nuclear program.