Iran urges end to nuclear weapons as talks begin

NUCLEAR weapons only bring disaster and the world would do well to denuclearise, Iran’s foreign minister said yesterday as Tehran opened talks with the West in Geneva over its contested atomic project.

“I think we need to promote very seriously the issue of denuclearisation. Nuclear weapons do not solve any problem. They only bring disaster,” Manouchehr Mottaki said at the start of a two-day visit to Athens. “I think all countries in the world should proceed with denuclearisation. It is the best guarantee of security.”

Iran and six world powers held their first talks in more than a year yesterday, focusing mainly on Tehran’s need to diffuse fears about its nuclear programmes.