TASHKENT, March 4. /TASS/. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly confirmed that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons. The nuclear dossier is a false pretext for US and Israeli aggression against the Islamic Republic, Iranian Ambassador to Uzbekistan Mohammad Ali Eskandari told reporters.

"The nuclear issue is simply a false pretext for aggression against Iran. <...> Whether we had nuclear weapons or not, they would have attacked us regardless," he said.

According to the diplomat, the IAEA has confirmed in its reports that Iran does not possess nuclear weapons. He also recalled that the Islamic Republic’s leadership has repeatedly stated that it has no plans to develop them.

On February 28, the US and Israel launched a military operation against Iran. The strikes targeted major Iranian cities, including Tehran. The White House justified the attack by citing missile and nuclear threats it said were emanating from Tehran. The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced a large-scale retaliatory operation, striking targets inside Israel. US assets in Bahrain, Jordan, Qatar, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia also came under attack. Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and several other key figures of the Islamic republic’s leadership were killed.