Iran is developing nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and does not seek nuclear weapons, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani was quoted as saying by Press TV on Wednesday.

"The Islamic republic has never been after nuclear weapons," Rouhani said in a meeting with religious scholars and seminary students in the southern Iranian province of Khuzestan on Tuesday.

"All those countries that sought nuclear bombs did it secretly, and achieved it secretly," he said, adding that Iran's nuclear program has been under the eyes of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

If Iran intended to develop nuclear bombs, it would not be a signatory to the nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) and would not allow the IAEA to inspect its nuclear sites, he emphasized.

Rouhani said the Iranophobia campaign conducted by the West managed to present a false image of Iran, adding that his administration has been asserting to the world that "the Islamic Republic of Iran is after nuclear technology but not nuclear bombs. "

"This was the foundation for our negotiations with the P5+1 group, the West and the world's big powers," he was quoted as saying.

After almost a decade of deadlock in the talks over Tehran's disputed nuclear program, Iran and the world major powers agreed last November to take preliminary steps to solve the long-standing issue.

The interim deal signed in Geneva on Nov. 24 envisages a freeze in part of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for limited easing of sanctions against Iran's economy. It was announced Sunday that powers and Iran will start to implement the deal on Jan. 20.