Weapons have no place in Iran's nuclear strategy, vice president says

Iran's vice president said Thursday that weapons have no place in his nation's nuclear strategy, as he asserted Tehran's right to nuclear technology during a visit to neighboring Pakistan.

Photo: Weapons have no place in Iran's nuclear strategy, vice president says

Speaking after talks with Pakistan's Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz in Islamabad, Iran's First Vice President Parviz Dawoudi reiterated that its nuclear program which the U.S. says is aimed at building weapons was for peaceful purposes.

"Nuclear weapons and armaments have no place in Iran's nuclear strategy. Our right to nuclear technology is the right of any nation on this globe, therefore these two things are not really negotiable," he told a news conference.

"But in order to provide greater assurances to the international community, on our part we are prepared to continue with the negotiations with other parties," he said, without elaborating.

Six world powers this week, including the five permanent U.N. Security Council members, discussed in London a package of measures that would reward Iran if it gives up uranium enrichment or punish it if it doesn't, and diplomats reported progress in eliminating differences between the six governments.

Pakistan, which developed the Muslim world's first nuclear bomb and faced international sanctions after testing it in 1998, has repeatedly said the standoff over Iran's nuclear issue must be resolved peacefully, saying it opposes imposing sanctions on Iran or using any military strike against Iranian nuclear facilities.

Aziz repeated that stance Thursday.

Dawoudi, one of two Iranian presidential deputies, said Pakistan a U.S. ally in its war on terrorism had taken a "wise stance" on the Iranian nuclear issue, reports AP.

O.Ch.