Iran foreign minister urges nuclear research is peaceful

Iran foreign minister urges nuclear research is peaceful

Iran has a right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and is committed to not building a nuclear weapon, Iran's foreign minister said Tuesday in Japan.

Manouchehr Mottaki met with Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and told reporters afterward that he asked for Japanese participation in Iran's nuclear reactor program.

But he denied that Tehran wanted to build an atomic weapon.

"Iran also, like Japan, enjoys its right to have nuclear technology for peaceful purposes," Mottaki said after the talks. "We are against nuclear weapons," reports the AP.