Iran says US not in position to launch costly war against it

UNITED NATIONS: Insisting that it is "not looking for a nuclear bomb", Iran has said despite the US' "psychological war" against it, Washington is not in a position to launch a costly military offensive against it after being embroiled in Iraq.

Foreign Minister Manouchehr Motaki, however, said his government is trying its best to avoid confrontation but would not give up its right to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.

"We are not looking for a nuclear bomb. We do not need a nuclear weapon. It is not in military doctrine," the Iranian Minister told reporters here on the last day of the UN General Assembly session.

States which had previously used nuclear weapons and are testing new generations of such arms posed "greater danger to global security," he said.

The US and its allies believe that Iranian nuclear programme is geared towards a weapons programme and want it to abandon uranium enrichment.

The US is conducting a "kind of psychological war" for last two years and saying military option is on the table, Motaki said.

But "our analysis is clear. US is not in a position to impose another war in our region against their taxpayers," the Iranian minister said, adding "we have tried to brief our friends in the region" about Iran's effort to avoid confrontation.