Zionist regime should be compelled to sign NPT: Iran

Salehi made the remarks on Sunday during his opening speech to the second International Conference on Disarmament and Non-proliferation hosted by the Foreign Ministry’s Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS) in northern Tehran. 

A number of major international figures, nuclear experts, and representatives of international and non-governmental organizations have participated in the two-day nuclear disarmament conference. 

“The international community should put pressure on the Zionist regime to join NPT” to help stabilize the Middle East, the foreign minister said. 

“This regime possesses various types of weapons of mass destruction and nuclear facilities in contravention of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, posing a serious threat to the region,” he explained. 

“The only obstacle in the way of creating a nuclear weapons-free Middle East is the Zionist regime.” 

Iran regards nuclear disarmament as ‘urgent necessity’ 

Salehi also said that the Iranian government regards the nuclear disarmament as an “urgent necessity” for the international security, emphasizing that the countries which possess nuclear weapons should not set any condition for the eradication of their weapons. 

“Nuclear disarmament is the only way to save the humanity from the danger of annihilation by intentional or unintentional use of these weapons,” he said. 

He went on to say that the international community is today facing the threat of nuclear weapons more than ever, emphasizing that the very existence of these weapons is the greatest threat to the international security. 

Salehi described the Unites States as the biggest violator of the NPT and criticized it for promoting the use of nuclear weapons. 

Commenting on the bipartite treaties on the reduction of nuclear weapons between the countries which possess these weapons, he said that signing unimportant agreements like the new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty between the U.S. and Russia does not present a positive outlook for the future. 

Elsewhere in his remarks, the senior diplomat pointed to the message of Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to the first nuclear disarmament conference in Tehran in which the Leader declared haram (forbidden in Islam) the production, stockpiling and use of weapons of mass destruction, saying that the Leader’s fatwa (religious decree) demonstrates the Islamic Republic of Iran’s stance on WMDs and the necessity of nuclear disarmament. 

In conclusion, the foreign minister expressed hope that the Tehran nuclear disarmament conference would bring about a more secure world and help the realization of the dream of a nuclear weapons-free world. 

Salehi also told reporters on the sidelines of the conference that Iran supports the adoption of an international convention on nuclear disarmament. 

On June 8, Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mahdi Akhoundzadeh said that Iran is making efforts to prepare a draft convention in campaign against the production and proliferation of nuclear weapons. 

Iran has devised feasible plan for settling Bahrain crisis 

On the political crisis in Bahrain, the foreign minister said that the consultations are underway to help resolve the issue. 

He also said that Iran has devised a feasible plan for the settlement of the crisis. 

“Whenever Bahrain expresses its readiness, we will announce our proposal,” he said.