Khatami warns the world against WMD proliferation

"Today, the world is seriously threatened by the production, proliferation and stockpiling of weapons of mass destruction," Khatami was quoted as saying in a speech delivered to the first international conference on bioethics, which opened Saturday, and was attended by some 600 professors, researchers and scientists from 18 countries.

"Although, weapons of mass destruction are produced with the order of politicians and militarymen, they are unfortunately tested and produced in laboratories of world scientists", the Iranian president added.

Washington claims that Iran is covertly trying to produce nuclear weapons, claims that have been repeatedly rejected by the Islamic republic, asserting that its nuclear program is solely used for peaceful purposes, like generation of electricity.

The conference is co-sponsored by the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Iran’s Ministry of Science, Research and Technology and the Health Ministry as well as the National Genetics Engineering, Biology and Technology Research Center, and Tehran University’s Ethics and Medical History Research Organization.

UNESCO Director General K. Matsuura also addressed the opening session of the conference.

One of the main objectives of the conference is the exchange of scientific and research experiences.