“Iran’s strategic potential and military power is deterrent enough to repel any foreign threats, thus rendering it pointless for the country to design and develop nuclear weapons,” Kamalvandi told Iran Daily.
The newspaper published the official’s comments in its Monday edition.
According to Iran Daily, the comments came hours after AEOI chief Mohammad Eslami was quoted by media as saying that the Islamic Republic has technical capability to build an atomic bomb, but it does not have such an intention.
Kamalvandi explained that Eslami was “misunderstood and misjudged” by some media, adding that what had been attributed to him runs counter to Iran’s official stance on the prohibition of weapons of mass destruction.
The AEOI spokesman referred to a religious decree by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei about nuclear weapons.
“The Supreme Leader’s fatwa (religious decree) clearly prohibits designing, developing and using an atomic bomb,” Iran Daily quoted Kamalvandi who reiterated that the Islamic Republic wants the region to be free from nukes, and that Israel poses a real nuclear threat to the whole region and the world.
On July 20, Iran’s Foreign Ministry assured that there was "no change" in the country’s nuclear policy.
"On the issue of weapons of mass destruction, we have the fatwa of the Leader, which prohibits the production of such weapons,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani told reporters.
"Iran's nuclear capabilities are important, but as has been mentioned on numerous occasions, Iranian nuclear technology is entirely peaceful and subject to constant surveillance by the International Atomic Energy Agency," Kanaani added.
4194**2050
Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish