Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has dismissed Western allegations that the Islamic Republic is pursuing a secret nuclear program.
Speaking at a Sunday ceremony in Tehran to unveil three new types of nuclear medicine, President Rouhani said Iran’s nuclear energy program is peaceful and within the framework of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
He added that Iran will not stop its scientific activities and will never give in to nuclear apartheid.
The Iranian president emphasized that the country will never push for and has never pursued weapons of mass destruction.
Rouhani also condemned Western countries for providing chemical and biological weapons to the former Iraqi regime during its eight-year war against Iran.
On February 22, 2012, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Iran considers the pursuit and possession of nuclear weapons “a grave sin” from every logical, religious and theoretical standpoint.
The Leader described the proliferation of nuclear weapons as “senseless, destructive and dangerous,” adding that the Iranian nation has never sought and will never seek atomic bombs as the country already has the conventional capacity to challenge the nuclear-backed powers.
Rouhani’s remarks come ahead of a fresh round of high-level nuclear talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, France, Britain, Russia, China - plus Germany, which is scheduled to begin in the Austrian capital of Vienna on May 13.
Representatives from Iran and the six countries have been working to hammer out a comprehensive deal following a landmark nuclear accord reached in the Swiss city of Geneva last November. The Geneva deal took effect on January 20.
