Iran Not after N. Weapons

(FNA)- Iranian Ambassador to Belgrade Majid Fahimpour stressed the peaceful nature of Tehran's nuclear program, and reiterated that Iran doesn’t seek to acquire atomic weapons.

Fahimpour made the remarks in an interview with TV channel DJ 24 on Wednesday.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran under no circumstances seeks to build nuclear weapons," he said.

Noting that the nuclear talks between Iran and Group 5+1 (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France plus Germany) have entered a sensitive stage, Fahimpour said in the past 15 months, the two sides have witnessed tangible progress.

Making use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is among Iran's legitimate rights, he said, adding that Tehran seeks to generate electricity and produce medical and agricultural products.

In relevant remarks on Wednesday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reiterated Tehran's strong opposition to the acquisition, proliferation and use of the nuclear weapons, stressing that Iran had never been after acquiring nuclear bombs.

Rouhani made the remarks, addressing a large gathering of people in the Central province of Isfahan.

Addressing the states accusing Iran of a military nuclear drive, the president said nuclear weapons couldn’t bring security to any country. "You yourselves have made atomic bombs and have supplied such bombs to a criminal like the occupier Zionist regime; but have you been able to create security for yourself and that regime with these bombs?"

"We don’t need atomic bomb," he underlined.

Rouhani stressed that the united Iranian nation, enjoying talented youth, had managed to launch a new satellite into the orbit despite all pressures and sanctions and it honored its great scientists in various areas of hi-tech, including aerospace, nuclear, biotechnology and nanotechnology.

In relevant remarks in November, the Iranian president stressed that Iran was not only committed to all the international laws in improving its peaceful nuclear program,, but also determined to implement Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei's fatwa against the production and use of the nuclear weapons.

On February 22, 2012, Ayatollah Khamenei said the Islamic Republic considers the pursuit and possession of nuclear weapons "a grave sin" from every logical, religious and theoretical standpoint.

The fatwa issued by the Supreme Leader forbidding the production, proliferation and use of nuclear bombs is to be considered a political milestone in Iranian history and one which can salvage the Islamic nation from the spate of external threats and plots.

Fatwa is a religious decree issued by a Muslim leader against a specific issue and it is incumbent upon all Muslims to abide by it. However, in this particular case, the issuance of the fatwa has not only religious but political force as well as the leader in the Islamic Republic is the prime decision-maker.

Also, all activities of Iran's nuclear installations are under the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Organization (IAEA) which has many times confirmed the peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program.

Despite all sanctions and pressures, Iran sent its fourth home-made satellite, Fajr (Dawn), into orbit on Monday. The satellite, completely built by Iranian scientists, was launched on the second day of the national ceremonies marking the 36th anniversary of the victory of the Islamic Revolution in Iran (1979).

The Iranian satellite was sent into the orbit - at the altitude of 450km - on the back of the home-made Safir-e Fajr launcher.