Khatami singles out Israel in defending Iran's nuclear plans [View All]

[Behind the Aegis]

Former Iranian president Mohammed Khatami defended his country's nuclear program on Saturday and, singling out Israel, said the West should focus its pressure on building a nuclear-free Middle East.

The United Nations' atomic watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), voted last weekend to report Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear program.

Western powers accuse Iran of developing an atomic weapon, while Tehran insists it aims to produce only civilian energy.

"It would have been very good if the international community, especially the Europeans and the IAEA, would make efforts to have a nuclear-free region in the Middle East," Khatami told reporters on the sidelines of a conference in the Malaysian capital.

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