ISTANBUL 

Iran initially sought to develop a nuclear bomb to strengthen its deterrent forces but failed to maintain the secrecy of the program, the former deputy speaker of the Islamic Consultative Assembly said Sunday.

"From the very beginning, when we entered the nuclear activity, our goal was to build a bomb and strengthen the deterrent forces, but we could not maintain the secrecy of this issue, and the secret reports were revealed by the group of hypocrites,” Ali Motahari told Iran-based Iscanews, referring to the National Council of Resistance of Iran.

He said a country that wants to use nuclear power peacefully never starts enrichment but first establishes a reactor and then enters the field of enrichment.

“But the fact that we enrich directly creates the illusion that we want to make a bomb,” he added.

The opinion of the country's current leader is that developing a nuclear bomb is absolutely illegal, he added.

Officials of the Islamic Republic have repeatedly cited a fatwa, or ruling, issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei declaring the use of chemical and nuclear weapons "haram," or forbidden.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar