The Iranian foreign minister, Kamal Kharrazi, says Muslims throughout the world will feel more confident now that Pakistan has conducted nuclear tests -- because they balanced what he called Israel's nuclear capability.

Mr Kharrazi, who's visiting Pakistan, said many countries had been worried that Israel was the only nuclear power in the Middle East.

At the same time, the Iranian minister called for restraint.

Mr Kharrazi repeated that Iran itself had no intention of building nuclear weapons; its nuclear programme was for peaceful purposes only.