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Nuke Conference
US the only atomic criminal: Iran
Calls for suspension of US from IAEA, revision of NPT
Ashok Tuteja
Tribune News Service

Tehran, April 17
Faced with fresh America-initiated UN sanctions, Iran upped the ante against the United States on the nuclear issue by calling for its suspension from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for possessing nuclear weapons and revision of the NPT as it kick-started an international conference on nuclear disarmament in Tehran today.

What Tehran Moots n Establishment of independent global group under the UN to plan nuclear disarmament n Suspension of membership of the US & others which threaten use of N-weapons from the board of governors. n Revision of NPT by states which do not have atomic weapons to make the treaty just.

India’s Stand on Iran n Opposes sanctions against Iran n Says Tehran should enjoy all rights to develop N-energy for peaceful purposes.

“Only the US government has committed an atomic crime. The world’s only atomic criminal lies and presents itself as being against nuclear weapons proliferation while it has not taken any serious measures in this regard,” said Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad while opening the two-day conference at the majestic IRIB International Conference Centre here.

Delegates from more than 60 countries, including as many as 25 foreign ministers or deputy foreign ministers, are attending the conference, ignoring attempts by the West to dissuade them from attending the meet.

The presence of so many countries has come as a pleasant surprise to Iran itself. Talking briefly to The Tribune, Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki said the response to the conference was overwhelming. He said the conference would go a long way in achieving the goal of nuclear disarmament and presenting to the international community the true nature of his country’s nuclear programme.

Even as the US was making a strong pitch for further sanctions against Iran, China and Russia, two permanent members of the UN Security Council, were attending the meet in Tehran. India, another key global player, was also present at the conference, though it was only represented by the Joint Secretary (Disarmament) in the External Affairs Ministry, G Dharmendra.

Russia was represented by its Deputy Foreign Minister Ryabkov Sergey, who told reporters that it was very important for his country to attend the conference, given the role Moscow was playing in the field of nuclear disarmament. He said Moscow had always advocated a solution to the Iranian issue through negotiations but hastened to add that sometimes sanctions were unavoidable. He was hopeful that the five permanent members of the Security Council and Germany, which were engaged in resolving the Iranian issue, would show utmost flexibility in dealing with it.

Iran is showcasing the two-day event to demonstrate that its nuclear programme was aimed at meeting its growing energy needs and that it has no military agenda. At the same time, the Islamic Republic seems more or less convinced that a fourth set of sanctions against it was imminent, given its face-off with the West over its controversial uranium enrichment programme.

However, the leadership in Tehran appeared defiant as was reflected by the speech made at the conference by President Ahmadinejad and the message of Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, which was read out at the meet.

In his address, the President came down heavily on the US and its allies. He was equally harsh on Israel, while slamming Washington for providing “blind support” to the “Zionist regime”.

Indian representative Dharmendra said India believed that Tehran should enjoy all rights as a non-nuclear weapons state, which is a signatory to the NPT to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.