Iran brushes aside the parallel drawn by the NATO chief between its conventional missile program and Israel's 'supposed nuclear arsenal'.

Secretary-General Jaap de Hoop Scheffer had said on Monday that because of Iranian missiles, he would never expect Tel Aviv to abandon its nuclear program - which is believed to be producing at least 7-8 atomic bombs per year.
""As we all know, Israel never admits to what it has, but I do not see very many arguments for the Jewish state to abandon its potential,"" Scheffer said in his Monday address.
On Wednesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Qashqavi rejected Scheffer's claims and stressed that Iran's nuclear program is solely directed at the civilian applications of the technology.
Qashqavi advised Scheffer to base his judgment on factual evidence presented by the UN nuclear watchdog, which has monitored Iran's activities since 2003.
In the UN body's latest report on Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said it could not find any 'components of a nuclear weapon' or 'related nuclear physics studies' in the country.
Contrary to the findings of the IAEA, the United States, Israel and their European allies allege that a nuclear Iran would pose an existential threat to Tel Aviv, accusing the country of seeking nuclear weaponry.
The Iranian spokesman pointed out that the Islamic Republic has never initiated any act of aggression against any nation, while Israel has a clear record of initiating war and violating the sovereignty of its neighbor.
Iran is a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and, thus, entitled to enrich uranium for its under-construction power plants.
Meanwhile, Israel, which is widely believed to possess some 200-300 nuclear warheads, has repeatedly refused to ratify the treaty.
Former U.S. president Jimmy Carter confirmed in late May that Israel is the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East.
Qashqavi said the NATO secretary-general's comments regarding Israel's nuclear arsenal, which pose a 'grave danger' to regional countries, have raised eyebrows in Iran and the international community.
(Source: Press TV)