The Iranian leadership has criticised the US for its own large stockpile of nuclear weapons [AFP]
Iran is set to open a summit on nuclear energy and security as a counter to last week's conference held by Barack Obama in the United States.
The meeting, beginning in Tehran on Saturday, has been dubbed "Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons for No-One".
Twenty-four foreign and deputy foreign ministers will attend the two-day summit, state media reported, with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad delivering the opening speech.
The names of the countries represented were not given in the report, but European and other Western officials are not thought likely to attend.
Speaking to Al Jazeera ahead of the meeting Manouchehr Mottaki, Iran's foreign minister, said that the Iranian government was stressing the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
"While Washington discussed the protection of nuclear material, in this coming conference, we will emphasise the necessity of disarmament"
Manouchehr Mottaki, Iranian foreign minister
"Last week, we celebrated successful steps in nuclear activities for Iran, and in that meeting with Ahmadinejad, we stressed that nuclear energy must be for everybody," he said.
"While Washington discussed the protection of nuclear material, in this coming conference, we will emphasise the necessity of disarmament."
Mottaki also told Al Jazeera that there would be some form of American representation at the nuclear summit.
However, the US state department has denied that claim to Al Jazeera saying no US official had been invited.
Iran criticised the 47-nation nuclear security summit hosted in Washington earlier this week by Barack Obama, the US president, on the grounds that the US holds one of the world's largest stocks of nuclear weapons.
Officials from Iran were not invited but Mottaki told Al Jazeera that he would have considered attending if invited.
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2010/04/201041623302176311.html
