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Iran: Nuclear program not military

Posted on: Wednesday, 10 May 2006, 20:24 CDT

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."

Source: REUTERS

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