Category: World Service
Date: 01.02.2006
Printable version
Iran's Oil Minister has said using nuclear power to produce electricity is the the right of every country and that this had been Iran's intention for many years - despite its oil reserves.
Ambassador Syed Kazem Ham'aneh told BBC World Service: "This is not a new phenomenon - we had the plan 30 years ago, long before the (Iranian) Revolution".
The aim was to "have the use of peaceful energy for electricity."
In an exclusive interview in Vienna with Fergus Nicoll of The World Today programme, the minister explained that before the Iranian revolution in 1979, there had been a "relationship or contract with the Germans to build a (nuclear) reactor" and a deal with France to supply fuel for it.
He added: "After the Revolution, they didn't continue their work. They didn't compensate us - after spending billions of dollars on those projects. And having this possibility of utilising these sorts of energy is the right of every country."
Asked if Iran could persuade the world of its peaceful nuclear intentions before being reported to the United Nations Security Council by the United States and the European Union, the minister said: "In general, the world is aware of what our intentions are."
But he acknowledged that "maybe a few are not".
On whether Iran planned to cut back its oil supplies to the rest of the world, he said: "No, I don't see any reason for that. I don't see any possiblility of that nature."
BBC World Service Press Office
