The Tuesday report by the semi-official Mehr news agency quotes Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi as saying, "Iran plans to declare in the U.N. that it will never go after nuclear bombs. "

Rahimi did not say when the promise would be delivered.He charged that the Western sanctions aim to thwart Iran s "scientific progress." Several rounds of sanctions aimed at the nuclear program have impacted heavily on Iran s economy.Iran has repeatedly denied West suspicions that it is pursuing weapons construction under cover of its nuclear programIn 2005, Iran s top leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued a religious edict "banning production, storage and use of nuclear weapons."