NEW DELHI: Former Iranian president Mohammad Khatami has pledged the Islamic Republic will never develop nuclear weapons and called for the crisis over IranÂ’s atomic programme to be settled through talks, a report said on Saturday.KhatamiÂ’s appeal on Friday in the Indian capital, New Delhi, came 24 hours before the UN Security Council was set to slap new sanctions on Iran over its refusal to suspend all uranium enrichment activity.
“Iran will never go for nuclear weapons,” Khatami told a media conference in the city, according to the Indian Express newspaper. “Weapons of mass destruction have never been our objective,” he said. Iran was always ready to give an “objective guarantee” on its commitment not to develop nuclear weapons and the issue should be solved “through negotiations,” he added. The “sensitive” region, which is already facing many problems over Iraq and Palestine, does not need another crisis, he said.
Khatami reiterated that Iran was pursuing its nuclear energy programme to meet its energy requirements. “We have a huge reserve of oil and natural gas but it won’t last long. Many countries in the world see fossil fuels as harmful and are looking for replacements,” he said.
“Nuclear energy is the most accessible form of energy. We must also make use of wind and solar energy, said Khatami, who met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh later in the day.