Speaker reiterates peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani underlined that Iran, as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), has never been after the production of nuclear weapons, specially due to the religious ban placed on such weapons by Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei. Speaking at a meeting with Co-Chairman of Italy-Iran parliamentary friendship group Ettore Rosato in Tehran on Sunday, Larijani said that Iran needs peaceful nuclear energy to supply its demands given its geographical position, saying the country builds nuclear power plants to achieve this goal. “Iran has never sought nuclear weapons and regards weapons of mass destruction as a threat to security of the region and the world,” Larijani said. On February 22, 2012, Ayatollah Khamenei said the Islamic Republic considers the pursuit and possession of nuclear weapons "a grave sin" from every logical, religious and theoretical standpoint.