(REUTERS) Iran's stance against the development of nuclear weapons will not significantly change, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Al Jazeera in an interview released on Wednesday (March 18), cautioning that the new supreme leader is yet to publicly express his view on the matter.

Former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed early in the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran, opposed the development of weapons of mass destruction in a fatwa, or religious edict, issued in the early 2000s.

Western countries, including the U.S. and Israel, have for years accused Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons, while Iranian authorities have said their nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes.

Araqchi said fatwas depend on the Islamic jurist issuing them and added he was not yet in a position to judge the jurisprudential or political views of Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new supreme leader.

Iran's foreign minister also said he believed that after the war comes to an end, countries that border the Gulf should draft a new protocol for the Strait of Hormuz, to ensure that safe passage through the narrow waterway is carried out under certain conditions aligned with Iranian and regional interests.

Asked about Iranian strikes in the Gulf not only targeting U.S. military bases but also impacting residential or commercial areas, Iran's foreign minister said this was because U.S. forces relocated to urban areas.

Araqchi acknowledged that regional countries are "upset and that the people of the region have been harmed" by Iranian strikes, but added that the blame lay entirely with the U.S. for starting the war on February 28.

Posted by: AAngeles/NET25 News