NEW YORK, Sept 23 (Reuters) - Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in a CBS television interview to be broadcast on Sunday that Iran did not need nuclear weapons and his country was not heading for war with the United States.

Asked in an interview with CBS's "60 Minutes" whether his country's goal was to obtain a nuclear bomb, he said the answer was a "firm no".

"You have to appreciate we don't need a nuclear bomb. We don't need that. What need do we have for a bomb?," he said, according to a transcript released on Sunday.

Asked whether Iran and the United States were heading toward conflict over Tehran's nuclear ambitions, he said: "It's wrong to think that Iran and the U.S. are walking towards war. Who says so? Why should we go to war? There is no war in the offing."

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