Soltaniyeh: Iran to continue uranium enrichment
IRNA – The Preparatory Session of nuclear NPT Revision Committee ended activities here Friday after a fortnight with its manor news being Iran’s message of incessant pursuance of its peaceful nuclear activities, including continuing uranium enrichment.
1391/02/22 - 17:41
According to the IRNA reporter in Vienna, although the first Nuclear NPT Revision Preliminary Committee had neither any ratification, nor any resolution at the end, but the countries announced their stands at it, which were registered as the documents of the committee.
Islamic Republic of Iran’s Ambassador and Permanent Representative at the IAEA, whose presence at the UN Vienna Headquarters is usually at the center of attention of the world media and the internationally renowned reporters are often after interviewing him had an active presence at the last day session of the NPT Revision Committee, compared to the envoys of the other countries.
Also, during the two weeks of this meeting’s sessions in Vienna, the Iranian delegation was always one of the most dynamic missions, declaring Tehran’s stands on major issues, including nuclear disarmament, peaceful usage of the nuclear energy for all, and establishment of a nuclear-weapons free zone, as a top priority.
The Iranian envoy at the agency said at a press conference after the end of the NPT Committee, “The Islamic Republic of Iran has conveyed its clear message at this two-week meeting in the presence of the representatives of over 100 countries.”
He added, “That message was that Tehran would continue its peaceful nuclear activities incessantly, is committed to its responsibilities in accordance with the nuclear NPT, and sill keeps on cooperation with the agency, while it is the NPT member sates which should try more than before to promote an atmosphere of cooperation.”
IRAN SERIOUSLY OPPOSED TO NUCLEAR WEAPONS PROLIFERATION
Islamic Republic of Iran’s Permanent Representative at the UN nuclear watchdog on numerous occasions during the two weeks of the NPT Preliminary Committee in Vienna reiterated that Tehran is firmly opposed to the production and proliferation of nuclear weapons, in accordance with the nuclear NPT.
Soltaniyeh also emphasized at his press conference after the NPT Committee’s end, “If the nuclear NPT would be fully implemented they would very positively affect the promotion of international peace and security.”
He further reiterated, “The history of proliferation of nuclear weapons began with the production, testing, and usage of such weapons by the United States in the course of the World War II, which led to a chain reaction and proliferation of them by various countries in the course of the Cold War.”
Soltaniyeh referred to numerous cases of the stock piled nuclear weapon in such countries as the United States, France, and Britain, despite their commitments to decrease them, adding, “The stock piling of hundreds of US tactical nuclear weapons in the soil of European countries is obvious breaching of the NPT articles, both by the United States and by the host countries of such weapons.”
Iran’s ambassador to the agency meanwhile criticized the export control regimes imposed by western countries beyond the nuclear NPT regulations in transferring of the nuclear technology, arguing, “Cooperation of these export control groups with non-NPT member countries is an obvious case of breaching the NPT, as well as the agreements reached at the NPT revision conference.”
Soltaniyeh seriously criticized the nuclear cooperation of the United States and some European countries, such as France and Britain with the Zionist regime, arguing that their cooperation with Israel, too, is against those countries NPY commitments.
He referred to the leaking of classified information from the secretariat office of the IAEA, arguing, “Continuation of such a situation would lead to putting at stake the national security of member countries, and the persons and scientists who are cooperating with the agency, and therefore this sick trend must be ended as soon as possible.”
IRAN’S ACTIVITIES PEACEFUL IN ENTIRE NUCLEAR FIELD
The Ambassador of the Islamic Republic of Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) meanwhile emphasized at the Preliminary Nuclear NPT Committee that Iran is determined to achieve mastership in entire fields of the peaceful usage of the nuclear energy.
Soltaniyeh pointed out that the right to take peaceful advantage of the nuclear technology is in accordance with Article 4 of the NPT one of the major articles of that treaty, reiterating, “From the legal point of the view, the NPT does not create any restrictions for the member countries of this treaty in taking advantage of this right, and therefore, the Islamic Republic of Iran is determined to acquire mastership in entire field of taking peaceful advantage of the nuclear energy, including uranium enrichment.”
Iran’s ambassador added, “The illegal interference of the UN Security Council and efforts aimed at depriving the countries of their right to take advantage of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, is also breaching of Article 4 of the nuclear NPT, and in practice leads to weakening the credibility and long life of the nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty.”
Soltaniyeh referred to the discriminatory policies pursued by some countries, saying, “They on the one hand try to deprive some countries of their legal right to have access to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes by passing illegal resolutions at the UN Security Council, and on the other hand cooperate with the Zionist regime, which is not an NPT member, in its nuclear technology.”
He emphasized, “Some governments by providing facilities for the terrorists and assassinating five nuclear scientists of Iran turned a new page in the history of their enmities against the advancements of the peaceful nuclear technology of Iran, whose last case was the martyrdom of the top Iranian nuclear scientist, Mostafa Ahamdi-Rowshan.”
He reiterated, “The countries that have put the names of these scientists in the list of their sanctions are also responsible for these terrorist moves and the resulting material and spiritual damages.”
Soltaniyeh reiterated, “The Islamic Republic of Iran proposes the establishment of a system within the framework of the nuclear NPT to monitor the remuneration for such losses.”
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi, too, has said that the Zionist regime’s refusal to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is preventing the agreement from being implemented worldwide.
Salehi made the remarks during a speech at a Ministerial Meeting of the Coordinating Bureau of the Non-Aligned Movement, which opened in the city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on May 9 and will close on May 10.
The meeting is meant to make preparations for the 16th summit of heads of state and government of NAM, which is scheduled to be held in Tehran in late summer.
NAM is the largest grouping of countries outside of the United Nations and has 120 member states.
In his speech, Salehi stated, “The Zionist regime’s obstinate refusal to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is still the main impediment to the global implementation of the treaty. Therefore, on the regional stage, the initiative to establish a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the Middle East region, which was introduced by Iran in 1974, has not been implemented yet. And we believe every effort should be made to oblige the Zionist regime to provide the conditions necessary for the realization of this goal.”
Salehi also expressed regret over the fact that Article VI of the NPT has not been implemented yet, saying, “Nothing should divert our attention from serious threats against humanity posed by tactical and strategic nuclear weapons and the constant modernization of them and new military doctrines to use them.”
Article VI reads, “Each of the Parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament, and on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.”
The Iranian foreign minister stated, “In our view, the deadline proposed by the Non-Aligned Movement for the abolition of nuclear weapons, 2025, can only be met if we, as a movement, pursue it determinedly and vigorously.”
He went on to say that Iran fully abides by its commitments to the terms of international agreements, adding, “We are determined to use our rights within the framework of these agreements. In this regard, we thank the Non-Aligned Movement’s continued support for Iran’s peaceful nuclear activities.”
NAM has always condemned Israeli atrocities
Elsewhere in his remarks, Salehi condemned the atrocities being committed by the Zionist regime in the occupied Palestinian territories.
“In the movement’s documents, we have always condemned the occupation of the Palestinian territories and the Golan Heights and the deprivation of the Palestinian people from their fundamental rights. And the movement’s principles require us to denounce the arrogant attitude of the powers which support the violation of human rights in the occupied territories,” he added.
On the pro-democracy uprisings occurring in the Arab world, Salehi said, “We believe that, at this juncture, holding negotiations, respecting the people’s fundamental rights, and fulfilling their fundamental needs more than before is the only way out of the impasse created by authoritarian governments.”
The Iranian foreign minister held separate talks with a number of his counterparts and senior officials on Wednesday.
Plans for a United Nations-backed conference aimed at ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons are unraveling because of political upheaval in the region and diplomatic sparring over the military nuclear programs in Israel, said the officials involved in the event's preparations.
The conference, tentatively set for December in Helsinki, would mark the first meeting of Mideast states solely focused on establishing a nuclear-weapons-free zone in the region.
The gathering is seen as crucial to sustaining and strengthening the UN's Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, the primary international vehicle for reducing the threat posed by nuclear arms. Arab states have warned in recent months that they may be unwilling to commit to abiding by the NPT if the Mideast conference doesn't take place to address the threats they see from Israel's nuclear weapons programs.
The racist Zionist regime has said publicly in recent weeks that it may be unable to attend the Helsinki meeting due to the region's drastically shifting security environment in the wake of revolutions in Syria, Egypt and Libya.
Iran, meanwhile, has expressed doubts about the utility of the conference, growing out of its skepticism that the western governments would seriously press Israel to disarm.
The Jewish state is believed to have a nuclear-weapons arsenal consisting of hundreds of warheads, but has neither confirmed nor denied their existence under a policy known as 'nuclear ambiguity.' The US and the European Union have been charging baselessly Iran with clandestinely seeking to build atomic weapons, a charge Tehran ahs always categorically denied.
The idea gained traction in 1995 when the US, U.K. and Russia supported the initiative as part of a diplomatic push at the UN to gain Arab support for an indefinite extension of the NPT's ratification. In 2010, the NPT's signatory states for the first time committed to hosting a conference on the Middle East zone, which was set for 2012.
Mr. Laajava, the Finnish foreign ministry's undersecretary of state, said he has held hundreds of meetings with potential conference participants in the past seven months, including meetings with senior Iranian, Israeli, Syrian and Egyptian officials. This week, he addressed a gathering in Vienna of NPT signatory states preparing for the 2015 conference that will review the implementation of the treaty.
'This was the first time the NPT countries had a chance... to receive my report on the conference,' Mr. Laajava said. 'I must say I was encouraged by the tone of the assessment.'
Still, the Obama administration, which has supported the conference, is also voicing growing doubts that it will be held on schedule. US officials said this week they remain concerned that any event in Helsinki could morph into a venue largely aimed at attacking Israel's nuclear record.
'Failing to acknowledge and address the underlying political and security realities in the region will diminish the prospects for a successful conference in Helsinki,' the State Department's assistant secretary for international security and nonproliferation, Thomas Countryman, said Tuesday in Vienna.
The five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, plus Germany, are meeting with Iran's nuclear negotiators in Baghdad on May 23 to try to address international concerns about Tehran's nuclear advances.
Courtesy: The Tehran Times for Salehi story and the New York Times for the Middle East nuclear weapons free zone