“From the perspective of rationality and the country’s national interests and based on religious and national beliefs, we have never been and are not after weapon of mass destruction, and this country (Iran) does not pursue such weapons and does not consider them part of its national interests and defensive doctrine,” Rouhani said in Monday address to a cultural conference, here in Tehran.
The president also echoed Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei’s comments on the prohibition of the nuclear weapons, stressing that Iran firmly rejects any research or scientific work that leads to acquisition of such weaponry.
In 2005, Ayatollah Khamenei issued a fatwa forbidding the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons.
Earlier in September, President Rouhani used the SCO summit to voice Tehran’s abiding opposition to weapons of mass destruction such as the nuclear and chemical weapons.
Addressing the 13th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) in Kyrgyzstan at the time, Rouhani called for nuclear disarmament, and said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran considers nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation as necessary for the international peace and stability.”
He said Iran is committed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) based on Tehran’s legal undertakings and religious and moral teachings, as well as its strategic considerations.
Iran, one of the original states to sign the Non-proliferation Treaty, completed its Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA in 1974. Areas covered include the application and implementation of safeguards, materials control, provision of information to the IAEA, and the non-application of safeguards to nuclear material to be used in non-peaceful activities.
And the Islamic republic has been a major proponent of a nuclear-weapons-free Middle East.