Russia will send a delegation headed by the deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov to a Tehran nuclear disarmament conference, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said on Thursday.

Western powers suspect that Iran's nuclear program is aimed at making weapons, while Tehran claims it needs enriched uranium for civilian energy purposes.

Iran was not invited to participate in the Washington nuclear security summit held on April 12-13 after the United States earlier called for new harsher sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

The Tehran nuclear disarmament conference will become an alternative to the Washington one. It will focus on the peaceful use of nuclear power and related issues.

"On April 17-18, according to our information, Tehran will host an international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation conference. Russia will be represented by Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov," Andrei Nesterenko said.

He said Russia considers Tehran's nuclear disarmament conference a run-up for the New York Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that will be held on May 3-28.