News / Politics

Iran renews NAM call for global nuclear disarmament

Wednesday, 24 August 2016 6:02 AM [ Last Update: Wednesday, 24 August 2016 10:10 AM ]

Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Gholmali Khoshrou

Iran has renewed the call for the total elimination of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) across the world, saying the international community must work to prevent terror groups from obtaining such banned arms.

Addressing the UN Security Council on Tuesday on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Iran’s UN Ambassador Gholamali Khoshrou expressed concerns over the slow pace of denuclearization and a lack of progress in the dismantling of WMDs.

Khoshru, whose country holds the rotating presidency of NAM, described nuclear disarmament as the movement’s “absolute priority,” demanding that the concept of using nukes or threatening to use them be omitted from international military doctrines.

The Iranian diplomat warned against the access of terror groups to internationally-banned weapons, calling for cooperation among world countries to prevent the terrorists from acquiring such arms.

“NAM welcomes the establishment of zones free from nuclear weapons across the world and calls on all countries that are in possession of such weapons to unconditionally” join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), said Khoshrou.

He further expressed the movement’s support for creating a nuclear-free Middle East, saying that the Israeli regime, which has so far refused to join the NPT, must immediately and unconditionally sign the treaty and allow UN inspections of its nuclear facilities.

Israel, which is widely believed to possess between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads, is a non-signatory to the NPT and continues to defy international calls to join the treaty.

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