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Iran has no plans to develop nuclear bomb: Ahmadinejad

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September 22, 2006 04:13 IST

Asserting that Iran has no plans to develop a nuclear bomb, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday said the debate on its nuclear enrichment has been politicised.

Asked about his views on the Indian position that New Delhi does not want another nuclear power in the region, he briefly replied he supports that as Iran does not "seek nuclear weapons."

Questioned about his country's controversial nuclear programme, he said, "The bottomline is we do not need a bomb, not like what others think... we are not seeking a nuclear bomb, let me make that very clear."

He said the whole debate on its nuclear enrichment plans had been politicised.

He said this without naming anyone as to why the United States supports some countries who are acquiring nuclear weapons.

Stating that the Iranian nuclear programme is very transparent, he said anyone could visit the nuclear facilities and that the United Nations inspectors have never given any adverse report against it.

He did not reply directly to the question regarding at what stage in the negotiations with the European Union would Iran suspend its nuclear enrichment programme but said Tehran was seeking a mechanism which will guarantee that the agreement arrived at is implemented.

In this context, Ahmadinejad told reporters that earlier nuclear agreements had been reneged by the US and some European nations unilaterally and Iran wants to guard against that. Not only that, his country was denied even spare parts for its passenger planes, he added.

He said this on the final day of a three-day visit to New York to speak at the UN General Assembly where he also defended his nation's uranium enrichment programme and attacked US policy. Iran ignored a UNSC demand that it suspend uranium enrichment by August 31.

Asked whether he was still seeking destruction of Israel, Ahmedinejad said Iran was against anyone who commits murders, causes destruction, forced displacement of people and occupies others' lands.

He was also opposed to displacement of communities as a whole and their replacement by others and sought to differentiate between Zionism and Jews.

Zionism is not a religion but a group, which destroys others and occupies their lands. Jews are peace-loving people, he said.

Asked whether Iran would stop arming Hizbollah in Lebanon, he asserted that Tehran does not interfere in the internal affairs of anyone but does give spiritual support to those fighting oppression and occupation.

During the 45-minute press conference, Ahmedinejad, as expected, sharply criticised the United States and other western powers who, he said, still believed that victors of the Second World War should run the world as they desire.

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