Iran's Zarif: US, Israel nukes threaten our region

Iran’s foreign minister says more than seven decades after the US’ nuclear massacre in the Japanese city of Hiroshima, Washington’s infamous legacy lives on with the country and its staunch ally Israel now menacing the West Asia region with their nuclear arsenals.

“Today, US & Israeli nukes threaten our region,” Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Thursday.

He posted the tweet on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of American B-29 bomber Enola Gay’s dropping of atomic payload over the Japanese port city, killing 140,000 people. The bombing utterly destroyed almost everything within 10 square kilometers in the downtown area. Many died immediately while others succumbed to their injuries or radiation-related illnesses weeks, months, and years later.

Japan marks 75 years since US nuclear bombing of Hiroshima

Japan is marking 75 years since the United States dropped a nuclear bomb on Hiroshima, with ceremonies downsized due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The bombing of Hiroshima was followed by the bombing of Nagasaki on August 9, which instantly killed more than 75,000 people.

Recalling the catastrophe, Zarif said, “75 years ago today, the US gained the infamy of becoming the 1st and ONLY user of nuclear weapons. And against innocents.”

The tweet integrated a graph showing increase in the US’ spending on its nuclear weapons program from 2011. Another picture illustrated a watch in the aftermath of the Hiroshima strike that kept showing the time of the attack that brought the city to a standstill.

Washington, however, has surprisingly shrugged off criticism of its retention and empowerment of nuclear arsenal ever since.

It has also been blocking all international attempts at taking the Israeli regime to task over the latter’s widely-reported possession of hundreds of nuclear warheads, which has made it the sole owner of nuclear arms in the Middle East. Still under Washington’s protection, Tel Aviv has neither bothered to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Zarif, meanwhile, made reference to a hugely controversial doctrine that the Israeli regime adheres to in order to try and justify its possession of immensely destructive weapons. Under the doctrine, the regime claims that it has to have enough such weaponry at its disposal to ensure “mutual destruction” of both the occupying entity itself and its potential targets in case of a conflict.

“It's long overdue to end nuclear nightmare & the #MAD doctrine of Mutually Assured Destruction,” Zarif wrote.

Tel Aviv has been invariably blaming Tehran’s nuclear energy program for “diversion” towards military purposes to supposedly rationalize its ceaseless fortification of its military with Washington’s help.

This is while Tehran is an NPT signatory that roundly rejects either development or possession of nuclear arms on religious and humanitarian grounds.

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