Iran: Nuclear program not military

JAKARTA (Reuters) – Iran’s nuclear program is peaceful and
has no military purpose, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
said on Thursday, adding he was ready to engage in dialogue
with anybody.

“It has nothing to do with nuclear weapons, or military
purposes,” he said during a visit to Indonesia in an interview
broadcast live on Metro television.

He also said it was “ridiculous” for countries with nuclear
arsenals of their own to be pressing Iran to curb its effort to
develop nuclear energy. He said Iran had “capabilities” to
defend its interests.

Washington and its European allies are seeking a U.N.
Security Council resolution that would oblige Iran to halt all
uranium enrichment work or face possible sanctions.

Tehran says it only wants to produce low-grade enriched
uranium to use in atomic power reactors, not the highly
enriched uranium needed to make bombs.

Iran is “ready to engage in dialogue with anybody,”
Ahmadinejad said in the interview, in response to a question
about a letter he wrote to President Bush this week.

Bush said the lengthy letter from Ahmadinejad failed to
answer international demands that Iran stop work which could be
used to make nuclear arms.

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan urged Iran on Wednesday
to drop its blunt rejection of Western overtures on its nuclear
program.

“What is important here is that everybody seems to realize
that we need to intensify diplomatic efforts and find a
solution,” he said. “I hope everyone will reduce the level of
the rhetoric on this issue.”