Islamabad: Iranian President Mohammad Khatami has said the pressure on Pakistan to abandon its nuclear programme should be shifted to Israel "in possession of more than a 100 nuclear warheads".

"Some countries are trying to exert pressure on Pakistan to abandon its nuclear programme inside the country. But we believe that these countries should press the Zionist regime in Israel that has announced to be in possession of more than a 100 nuclear warheads, which is a serious threat to peace and security of the world," Khatami told reporters at a joint press conference with Prime Minister Zafarullah Khan Jamali on December 24.

Khatami, who is visiting Pakistan, said Iran would go ahead with its peaceful nuclear programme to meet its energy requirements but rejected claims that it might develop nuclear weapons.

"We are very happy to say that we are going to have a nuclear power reactor in Iran. We are determined to pursue it for peaceful purposes, I repeat 'peaceful purposes'," he said.

However, Khatami said, "We believe that atomic and nuclear weapons are not going to bring peace and security to any nation in the world."

Khatami also said that Russia was helping Iran to set up a nuclear power plant at Bushehr city. He hoped Moscow would remove Tehran's concerns about nuclear waste so that there was no environmental problem in the region.

PTI