TEHRAN, September 16. /ITAR-TASS/. The Middle East should become a zone free of weapons of mass destruction and especially nuclear weapons, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has said.

“We believe the Middle East must be declared as a WMD-free, and especially a nuclear weapons-free region, and the Islamic Republic of Iran presented the related proposal to the UN many years ago,” the IRNA news agency quoted Rouhani as saying.

The Iranian president said weapons of mass destruction are extremely hazardous and should be wiped off from the whole world.

“We have numerous times, and very clearly announced that we consider the possession of the nuclear weapons and whole weapons mass destruction as inappropriate acts, but we meanwhile recognize every country's right to be benefitted from peaceful nuclear energy,” Rouhani said during a meeting with Slovak Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Miroslav Lajcak late on Monday.

The Iranian leader said no country should be deprived of the peaceful nuclear energy technology, which is used in most hospitals in the world for identifying and curing the diseases, and in the agricultural sector.

The statement comes ahead of the next round of Iran’s nuclear negotiations with the six world powers (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States and Germany), known as the P5+1, in New York on September 18. Western nations suspect Iran of using its nuclear research for developing atomic weapons while Iran insists its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes only.

Rouhani expressed hope that although the nuclear talks are tough and sensitive, “there are chances that the win-win strategy will work” and everyone will benefit from it. The Slovak foreign minister said every country in the world should be able to use the nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.