Iran can build nuclear weapons, but it won't

Iranian MP Golamreza Mesbahi Mighadam said that Iran can easily produce enriched uranium, which is used to make an atomic bomb, but that it will not do so because Tehran does not follow such a policy.

"Iran has the scientific and technological capabilities needed to produce nuclear weapons, but it will never go down that path," Moghadam said.

Moghadam is a member of parliament, not a government official, and his views do not represent Iranian government policy, AP reports.

This is the first time a prominent Iranian politician has publicly stated that Iran has the technological capabilities to produce nuclear weapons.

The US and its allies accuse Iran of using its civilian nuclear program as a cover for the production of nuclear weapons. Iran denies the accusations, saying it uses its program for peaceful purposes.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has repeatedly reiterated that his country does not want nuclear weapons, saying that possessing such weapons is a sin and "unnecessary, harmful and dangerous".

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that if Iran one day decides to build nuclear weapons, it will do so openly and fear no one.