Iran will not be capable of making a nuclear weapon in the near future, Russian Chief of General Staff Yuri Baluyevsky said on Saturday.

"I can confidently say that what Iran is doing today does not allow it the possibility, either in the near or distant future, to make a nuclear weapon," he was quoted by Interfax as saying.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared on Tuesday that Iran "has joined the club of nuclear countries" by successfully producing enriched uranium for the first time.

Despite the UN Security Council's call on Iran to suspend all nuclear enrichment activities, Tehran has remained defiant on grounds that its aims are entirely peaceful.

The United States has accused Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of civilian nuclear programs, but Iran has denied the charge.

Source: Xinhua