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Iran having no nuclear arms program, Zarif tells CNN

IRNA

New York, Nov 3, IRNA -- Iran`s Ambassador to United Nations 
Mohammad-Javad Zarif said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic has no 
nuclear arms program. 
He told CNN that Tehran believes that weapons of mass destruction 
will rather increase vulnerability of national security. 
"Iran has declared very openly that nuclear weapons and 
other weapons of mass destruction have no place in its defense 
doctrine. 
"We make this statement not simply out of our goodwill, but out 
of a very serious strategic calculation that nuclear weapons and other
weapons of mass destruction, in fact, will not boost Iran`s power. 
They will decrease our influence and increase our vulnerability." 
Zarif stressed that Iran is pursuing a peaceful nuclear program to
satisfy its energy needs, adding that this is the policy that the 
Islamic Republic has been pursuing and will continue to pursue in 
the future. 
Zarif said Iran has presented a "full and consistent picture" 
of its nuclear activities to the International Atomic Energy Agency 
(IAEA), and that it is now the IAEA`s turn to verify Iran`s nuclear 
energy report. 
"We have agreed to suspend our uranium enrichment and reprocessing
activities, and we will send a notification to the IAEA that we are 
ready to sign the additional protocol and start implementing it," he 
said. 
"These are what we agreed upon with the Europeans. In fact this 
would open the way for a dialogue between Iran and the three 
countries, and probably more, in order to find avenues for 
confidence-building and cooperation for the future". 
Asked why Iran needs to develop nuclear energy while sitting on 
vast oil reserves, Zarif said Iran will run short of oil reserves 
within the next 10 years given the rapid growth of population. 
"According to the NPT, countries that join and observe the 
requirements of non-proliferation ... have a right to pursue nuclear 
technology for peaceful purposes. That is an areas that is extremely 
important to us," he said. 
Iran`s UN ambassador further said Iran is suspicious of the US 
intentions to question Iran`s nuclear activities. 
This, he said, is while the US, as stated in a State Department 
document, welcomed Iran`s decision to diversify and use nuclear 
power 20 years ago. 
"Over the past 25 years, our population has almost doubled while 
our oil and gas reserves have not increased. We still have the same 
amount of reserves. And the State Department has changed its story. 
That is why we are suspicious of their intentions," Zarif said. 
AA/212 
End