We will never build nuclear bomb, pledges Iran president

Iran's new president Hassan Rouhani has vowed that his country will never construct nuclear weapons.

He also revealed he has full authority to negotiate with the West on Tehran’s uranium enrichment programme and called a recent letter President Obama sent him “positive and constructive”.

Mr Rohani said: “We have time and again said that under no circumstances would we seek any weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, nor will we ever.”

Iran has made such claims previously, insisting its nuclear activities are peaceful. But the US and Western allies still suspect it is trying to develop an atomic weapon, with some experts saying it could achieve the aim next year.

Mr Rouhani also addressed the question of whether he really has the power to make decisions and concessions on the nuclear issue. Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is known to control all important matters of state, including atomic programmes.

But the president said: “In its nuclear programme, this government has total authority. We have sufficient political latitude to solve this problem.”

Mr Rouhani was being interviewed by American TV network NBC News in Tehran just days before his first appearance as president on the world stage when he attends the United Nations General Assembly in New York.