Gavin Dahl / Raw Story & PressTV – 2011-06-06 02:12:43
http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2010/02/15-4
US Media Omission: Iran Calls for Global Nuclear Disarmament
Gavin Dahl / Alternet & Raw Story
(June 5, 2011) — The American public has not been informed by the US news media about highly newsworthy statements made by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Friday February 12.
He said the era of nuclear weapons is over, suggesting Iran has no plans to build “inhumane” A-bombs. Ahmadinejad called for a world free of nuclear arms in an interview with Russia’s NTV channel.
“We believe that not only the Middle East but also the whole world should be free of nuclear weapons because we see such weapons as inhumane,” he said.
“Today, no one can use a nuclear weapon and we believe that the US is taking a wrong move by stockpiling nuclear weapons,” he added. “Those who claim that they are against nuclear weapons should dismantle their nuclear weapons first to prove that they are honest.”
So far, the libertarian-leaning Antiwar.com has been the only American media outlet to cover his statements.
Considering Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s calls for sanctions over Iran’s nuclear program, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s position that new sanctions should be “crippling,” one might think the US media would pay attention to Ahmadinejad’s statements.
Instead, the media’s Sarah Palin obsession means that more Americans heard repeated calls to start a new war with Iran in the past week.
Iran has continually denied it plans to build nuclear weapons. The country’s high-profile stance is that enriched uranium will be used for Tehran’s medical reactor.
The interview Friday was given to Russian channel NTV, once critical of all-powerful Vladimir Putin, but now controlled by the state-owned Gazprom conglomerate. CNN published a timeline of the changes to the station nine years ago.
(c) 2010 Raw Story. All rights reserved.
Iran Calls to Complete Nuclear Disarmament
PressTV
TEHRAN (April 7, 2011) — Indiscriminate implementation of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is the only way to free the world from nuclear weapons.
Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaei has called on the international community to take serious steps toward a complete nuclear disarmament.
Addressing the UN Disarmament Commission on Wednesday, Khazaei said that indiscriminate implementation of Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the only way to free the world from nuclear weapons.
“The only way forward to eliminate threats posed by nuclear weapons is to completely destroy them. Iran believes that the best way for ensuring nuclear non-proliferation is to fully implement the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty without bias, particularly in the sensitive Middle East region,” IRIB quoted him as saying.
He said nuclear disarmament is among the top priorities of the comity of nations and resolutions approved by the UN General Assembly.
The envoy condemned certain countries for possessing nuclear weapons and “for not upholding their legal commitments for destroying the banned weapons.”
He said establishing sustainable world security will be possible only through logical approaches and avoiding the use of force.
Khazaei also accused Israel of threatening the regional and international peace and security as a recognized wielder of nuclear warheads.
“Due to the Zionist regime of [Israel’s] refusal to join the NPT and its formidable sites not being subject to the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), efforts to create a region free of nuclear weapons had not been successful,” Khazaei stated.
“The Middle East is a region where the nuclear program of one regime that is not a member of NPT — Israel — seriously threatens regional and international peace and security,” he added.
The Iranian official emphasized the Islamic Republic still insists on its proposal that the Middle East should be declared a region free of nuclear weapons.
He also underlined Iran’s determination to make use of its rights for peaceful nuclear activities and rejected US-led allegations that the country’s nuclear program may pursue purposes other than civilian objectives.
“Such baseless claims are often made by countries that have a historic precedence in non-adherence to their commitments to nuclear disarmament. Some countries try to block access of other countries to peaceful nuclear technology under a variety of pretexts. The NPT clearly acknowledges the rights of all members to peaceful nuclear programs,” Khazaei said.
Iran Calls on IAEA to Uphold Agreement
PressTV
TEHRAN (June 5, 2011) — Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) says the country is prepared to clear all ambiguities if the agency stands by its commitment.
“If the IAEA announces the modality issue to be closed Iran would be willing to address all ambiguities that may rise after the modality [plan]; however, this will not be possible as long as the agency fails to fulfill its commitments,” Ali Asghar Soltanieh said in an interviews with Mehr News Agency on Sunday.
“Iran and the Agency had an agreement referred to as the modality which all issues were raised within its framework and it was agreed that no other issues be raised afterwards,” he added.
“Based on the modality, all issues between Iran and the agency have been addressed and the agency must abandon the modality topic,” Iran’s ambassador to the agency said.
In a May 24 report, the Director General Yukiya Amano claimed that the agency had received new unspecific information indicating that Iran may not be merely developing nuclear energy for civilian purposes.
On Thursday, the Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) Fereydoun Abbasi rejected the groundless allegations leveled against the Islamic Republic in a response letter and said based on the modality plan agreed between Iran and the IAEA in 2007, the agency should announce this case closed.
Soltanieh pointed out that the letter was an indication that Iran, as a responsible country, would go ahead with its nuclear activities and its cooperation with the UN nuclear agency.
Iran has repeatedly and vehemently rejected unverified Western allegations that it is pursuing a military nuclear program, insisting that as a member of the IAEA and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it has every right to engage in nuclear activities for all peaceful purposes.
The IAEA has been regularly conducting rigorous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence of Iran’s diversion from a civilian nuclear program.
Posted in accordance with Title 17, Section 107, US Code, for noncommercial, educational purposes.
