Iran: Khamenei's ban of nuclear weapons binding

The Daily Star, AP, January 15, 2013

A handout picture released by the official website of Iran's Supreme Leader
 Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows Khamenei speaking to the cabinet members
 and the Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad during a meeting at his office
in Tehran on August 23, 2012. (AFP PHOTO/HO/KHAMENEI.IR)

                              

TEHRAN: Iran says a religious decree issued by the country's supreme leader banning nuclear weapons is binding for the Iranian government.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast says the West must understand the significance of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's fatwa for the Islamic Republic, and that the edict should end the debate over whether Tehran is pursuing nuclear weapons.

Khamenei said last year that Iran is not seeking atomic arms. He called possessing such weapons a "sin" as well as "useless, harmful and dangerous."

Mehmanparast's comments Tuesday come a day ahead of a new round of talks between Iran and the U.N.'s nuclear activist over Tehran's disputed nuclear program.

The U.S. and its allies accuse Iran of seeking nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies.