Iran says doesn’t need nuclear bomb to protect itself
By Sara Rajabova
Iran has announced that it does not need atomic bomb to sweep enemies from the region if the need arises.
"They (the powers) used the nuclear issue as an excuse and claim falsely that Iran is equipped with nuclear bomb," Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said referring to the world powers' claims as to Iran's possession of nuclear bomb.
"While Iran does not need atomic bomb and if the need arises someday for the enemies to be swept away from the region, the very youths of Iran can do this through their determination and thought...," he said, the Iranian president's official website reported on Thursday.
Western countries and some of their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program and held several round of talks with this country.
Nuclear talks
Meanwhile, British Foreign Secretary William Hague said on Thursday that the "window for diplomacy" for Iran would "not remain open forever."
"Some ministers made that clear (today)," Hague said regarding the negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program, after hosting a two-day meeting of G8 foreign ministers in London.
"Tehran's position falls short of what we need for a breakthrough," Hague said.
The latest round of international talks over Iran's nuclear program ended inconclusively on last Saturday.
Despite talks with Iran in Kazakh city of Almaty ended without any progress, Deputy Head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Baqeri described the talks as a turning point in the nuclear talks between Iran and the Group 5+1 (US, UK, France, Russia and China plus Germany).
He pointed to the fact there are three political, technical and legal sections in the nuclear field.
"In this round of talks, they changed their calculations and Iran did not accept their offers and the Iranian negotiators said that they can merely be studied," Baqeri said.
"Iran in all negotiations has emphasized and is emphasizing on the legal aspect of talks in such a way that it can achieve its rights based on the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the regulations of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)," the Iranian top negotiator said.
Also, Chairman of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, called on the six world powers to show they are honest in their talks with Iran by recognizing the latter's indispensable right to the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
He said the West will be compelled to recognize Iran's right to nuclear technology one day.
Last week, Iran and the six world powers wrapped up their fourth round of talks after two days of intensive negotiations in Almaty.
The Iranian team was led by Jalili, who is also the Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC), and the G5+1's representatives were presided by EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton.
Iran has so far ruled out halting or limiting its nuclear work in exchange for trade and other incentives, saying that renouncing its rights under the NPT would encourage the world powers to put further pressure on the country and would not lead to a change in the West's hardline stance on Tehran.
Iran is under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West's calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment. The United States and the European Union have ratcheted up their sanctions on Iran this year to force it to curb its nuclear program.
However, Iran refutes the allegation and argues that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the IAEA, it is entitled to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.