Iran calls nuclear weapons 'A great sin'

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GENEVA, Switzerland, Feb. 28 (UPI) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi Tuesday called for a ban on nuclear weapons, saying his country views possession of them as "a great sin."

Salehi, attending the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, said the world can either engage or confront his country on its nuclear program, and that Iran, "confident of the peaceful nature of its nuclear program, has always insisted on the first alternative."

Salehi's comments came just days after the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, expressed concern over the inability to inspect Iran's nuclear progress, and denial of access to military facilities connected to Iran's nuclear program.

Laura E. Kennedy, the U.S. representative to the conference, said Iran continues to resist the transparency that would allow the world to confirm the peaceful nature of its nuclear policy, The New York Times reported.

"This is hardly illustrative of a commitment to nuclear disarmament," she said.