Salehi During 2nd Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation: US, “Israel” Violating NPT
Local Editor
"The US administration is the biggest violator of the NPT," said Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in an address to the opening session of the second International Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in the Iranian capital, Tehran, on Sunday.
"The Zionist regime is the only obstacle to the establishment of a Middle East region free from nuclear weapons," he added.
Salehi stated that "Israel", as the main perpetrator of terrorism, violence and insecurity in the Middle East region, possesses a variety of nuclear weapons and installations outside the safeguard agreement of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The Iranian minister emphasized that advocates of "Israel", especially the United States, have been trying to equip the Israeli regime with weapons of mass destruction.
Salehi said nuclear weapons are "the most inhumane" weapons ever conceived in the world, stressing, "The existence of such weapons is the biggest danger to the global security."
"There are at least 23,000 nuclear warheads at the hands of certain countries and almost 10,000 of these weapons are on an operational level while more than 2,000 weapons are on the highest alert which can be launched in a few minutes," Press TV website quoted Salehi as saying.
The senior Iranian official warned that any use of nuclear weapons, accidentally or deliberately, would lead to an "unimaginable catastrophe" and emphasized that nuclear countries still insist on maintaining tactical and strategic nuclear weapons and updating them.
"Such a situation will not contribute to the promotion of the international security...The unilateral interpretation that nuclear countries offer to maintain such weapons runs counter to the NPT," he reiterated.
The Iranian minister also emphasized that the NPT has never asserted the right for nuclear countries to "permanently maintain their arsenals" and said, "Based on the Article 6 of the NPT, these countries have obligations which have not been fulfilled."
Iran believes that nuclear disarmament is an "urgent necessity" in order to establish a secure world, Salehi pointed out.
"Nuclear disarmament is the only way that can save the human civilization from the threat bof annihilation as a result of accidental or deliberate use of such weapons," he further explained.
The Iranian minister called on the international community to oblige Israel to sign the NPT and allow the IAEA to inspect its nuclear facilities as among ways to establish stability in the Middle East and prevent any possible proliferation.
He urged all possessors of chemical weapons to meet the date of April 29, 2012 as the deadline for the annihilation of chemical weapons.
Iran is holding the second International Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation as it hosted the first such meeting last year with the theme "Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapon for None."
Nuclear experts from more than 40 countries, ambassadors and representatives from international bodies such as the United Nations and the IAEA are attending the two-day conference in the Iranian capital.
Iran plans to hold the 3rd International Nuclear Disarmament Conference at ministerial level
where the country will once again promote its message that all nations are entitled to peaceful nuclear energy.
