take the pain out of arthritis. >>> we are back with mohammad larijani.the human rights commissioner of iran, one of his brothers is the speaker of parliament, another brother is the head of the judiciary. they have been called the kennedys of iran. mohammad larijani is also a m h mathematician who has been deeply involved in iran's nuclear program. let's talk about nuclear weapons and nuclear issues. does iran wish to -- is iran on track to build nuclear weapons? >> iran is on track to advance its nuclear technology. nuclear weapon does not add to our security. it won't be for our defense. it is mostly a liability for us. >> are you categorically ruling out -- >> absolutely and categorically, iran's strategic interest and practical strategy is not to go after weapons. >> if you say you're not going down the weapons path, why not find a way to clarify that and therefore have a different relationship with the international community? do you foresee a possibility of a deal? >> well, there are people on different perspective. i, am, myself, very optimistic.

larijanis. their father was a very influential grandayatollah. mohammad is a math ma trigs, former parliamentitarian, former foreign minister now among other things the head of the country's human rights commission. that brought him to new york thork to defend his country's human rights record at the u.n. larijani is a smart man from an influential family often at odds with president mahmoud ahmadinejad. you'll want to hear what he has to say not just on human rights but democracy in iran, the nuclear issue and relations with the united states. welcome, mr. larijani. >> thank you very much. >> let us talk about the reason you're here. there is a u.n. resolution condemning iran for human rights. you have been involved in human rights for a long time. what do you say to the world when they look at iran's record on human rights and seem appalled? while this is the right question and the right time, this democracy, which is unique in the middle east, in fact the greatest democracy in the middle east led iran less than 30 years to be a prominent country, in sc

joining me is mohammad javad larijani head of the human rights counsel and judiciary, advisor to ayatollah khamenei. i'm pleased to have mr. larijani at this table. welcome. >> thank you. >> rose: two things i should say. first of all you have a ph.d in mathematics from the university of california so you came here in the '70s to go to university, yes. >> okay. >> rose: okay, i,, you know america. you were here as a student. secondly, you come from this really remarkable family in iran. some have called you, your family the kennedies of iran. tell us about the family first, before we have this serious conversation about issues. >>> yes, i'm coming from-- i'm a member of a famous family i should say, this is the one thing, instance of the family members, family members are emerging as different political and social positions rather than to be put in that position from the orders from above. if stems from my father who was a famous islamic scholar. well-known in iran and even in iraq and other countries. >> rose: his name was. >> his name was ayatollah amoli. and perhaps while as the older s