Iran won't get nuclear arms

Dubai's ruler said he does

not believe Iran will get nuclear weapons, despite Western

suspicions that it is trying to develop them, saying the Islamic

republic would face devastation if it ever used an atomic bomb

against its arch-enemy Israel.

Iran insists its nuclear programme is peaceful but a United

Nations watchdog issued a report last month which suggested that

it had worked on designing an atomic bomb.

Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum, who is

also prime minister of the United Arab Emirates, dismissed such

concerns in an interview with CNN.

"What can Iran do with a nuclear weapon? For example, will

they hit Israel? How many Palestinians will die? You think if

Iran hits Israel, do you think their (cities) would be safe?

They would be gone the next day," he said.

Asked if he thought Iran would get a nuclear weapon, Sheikh

Mohammed said: "I don't think so myself."

CNN released excerpts on its website of the interview with

the ruler of Dubai, a Western-allied emirate which has extensive

trade ties with Iran across a narrow part of the Gulf.

Iran says its nuclear programme is exclusively for

generating electricity. It has suffered heavy sanctions from

international powers demanding it halt activities that they

believe are intended for military purposes.