Russia refutes anti-Iran nuclear claims

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev

Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/162184.html

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev has dismissed baseless US-led allegations that the Islamic Republic is pursuing a nuclear weapons program.

"The international community so far has no proof that Iran is building nuclear weapons," he said at the annual World Economic Forum on Wednesday.

The Russian president told world leaders and top executives at the forum that his country has long-term relations with Iran.

He further pointed out that he hopes Moscow can play a fruitful role in the ongoing dialog between Iran and the West.

Medvedev also said that he told his Iranian counterpart President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in a recent phone call to show that Tehran's nuclear activities are peaceful, the Associated Press reported.

Western powers accuse Tehran of following a military nuclear program, a charge repeatedly refuted by the Islamic Republic.

Last June, the UN Security Council imposed a fourth round of sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program under Western pressure.

Describing such sanctions as illegal under international law, Iran says that such measures will not prevent it from pursuing peaceful nuclear technology, which is mostly needed for curing cancer patients.

Iran says it has the right to use peaceful nuclear energy as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Earlier this month, Tehran invited international diplomats to visit the country's nuclear sites as a goodwill gesture aimed at highlighting the "transparency" of its nuclear program.

Last week, representatives from the IAEA, the Non-Aligned Movement, Group of 77, and the Arab League made a two-day tour of the country's nuclear facilities.

The international delegates, who represented more than 120 countries, visited the heavy water reactor in the central Iranian city of Arak and toured Iran's Natanz enrichment facility.

Iran's Ambassador to the IAEA Ali Asghar Soltanieh announced that the envoys published a positive report on their visit.

The 41st World Economic Forum, aimed at fighting global financial problems, opened in the Swiss mountain resort of Davos on Wednesday.