Iran: We have no nuke weapon to prove

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(Xinhua)
Updated: 2009-10-05 19:50

TEHRAN - Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi said Monday that Iran can not give proof of something it does not have.

"How can we prove something that does not exist? There is no nuclear weapon in Iran," Qashqavi said when asked about Iran's response to the West's demand to prove it has no nuclear weapon.

"It is very funny that they don't pay attention to this obvious issue of logic," Qashqavi told reporters, adding "they said you must give reasons for the non-existence of something."

"The truth is that our (nuclear) activities are peaceful, transparent and within the framework of NPT," he added.

He noted that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has proved many times the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program.

In a joint press conference with the head of Iran's Atomic Energy Organization Ali Akbar Salehi in Tehran on Sunday, the IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei announced that the UN nuclear watchdog would inspect Iran's new uranium plant near Qom on October 25.

ElBaradei said the IAEA has no "concrete" proof of nuclear weapon program in Iran and meanwhile the agency is working to deal with the international concerns over Tehran's nuclear program, adding that the Islamic Republic's relation with Western countries is moving from "conspiracy" to "cooperation."

The United States and other Western powers suspect Iran's nuclear program is aimed at producing nuclear-weapon materials, but Tehran contends that the program has no military component and has rejected calls to halt the effort.