¡ADDRESSING the UN Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference on May 3rd, Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad said: ‘having nuclear bombs is not an honour. It is even disgraceful. Even more shameful is to threaten to use it.
‘This is not comparable with any historical crime. Those who carried out the first nuclear bombing are the most hated individuals in history.
‘The UN and especially the Security Council have not been able to bring about sustainable security and the sense of security in international relations. And the conditions today are by far worse than the past decades.’
Ahmadinejad continued: ‘It is illogical to expect countries which own nuclear weapons to take voluntary and effective disarmament and non-proliferation measures.
‘This is because they believe that their nuclear weapons are means for their superiority. An Iranian proverb says that a knife would not cut its handle. It is illogical to expect the biggest sellers of weapons in the world to restore security.’
Speaking of the American administration he said: ‘In its new nuclear policy, this government has said that it will not build new weapons and will not attack those countries that do not have nuclear weapons.
‘How much do nations trust the American administration in observing its commitments? What is the guarantee for the observation of this commitment, and how would this be verified independently?
‘I need to remind you that the American administration has staged most of its wars against countries which were once its friends. In the new US policies some of the NPT member states which are committed to the NPT have been threatened to be attacked by nuclear weapons pre-emptively.’
He called for the transformation of the NPT into a disarmament and non-proliferation treaty. ‘NPT should change into DNPT, meaning disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons treaty. Disarmament should be one of the DNPT’s assignments, and clear, binding and effective mechanisms with international guarantees should be there to implement it,’ he said.
Ahmadinejad also called for the establishment of an international group for preparing a formula to implement Article 6 of the NPT and monitor nuclear disarmament and proliferation. At the same time, he called for the disarmament of nuclear powers and for an end to all activities to research and develop nuclear weapons.
The Iranian president said that those who use and threaten to use nuclear weapons should be suspended from the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) board of governors. ‘Up to date, their presence, pressure and political dominance in the agency have been an obstacle to the implementation of legal duties, especially Articles 4 and 6 of the treaty, and have caused the agency to deviate from the implementation of its legal missions,’ he said.
‘Especially, how can the American administration, which has used an atomic bomb against Japan and depleted uranium in the Iraq war, be a member of the board of governors,’ Ahmadinejad said.
Ahmadinejad began his speech by saying that Iran had accepted the nuclear swap proposal from the very beginning. ‘I want to tell them and you that we had accepted the swap from the very beginning, and I am announcing now that we accepted the swap,’ he said.
He said that the NPT review conference is one of the most important international meetings. ‘Searching for sustainable security is a noble, natural and historical thing. No country can refuse sustainable security,’ Ahmadinejad said. ‘Without a sense of sustainable security, there is no chance for comprehensible programmes on development and welfare,’ he added.
Ahmadinejad added that ‘over the past 40 years, some states, including the Zionist regime have acquired nuclear weapons’. He said that ‘the reason should be sought in the inefficiency and lack of balance in the foundations of the NPT’.
He said that some states are seeking to ensure their superiority in threatening and oppressing others and have launched an arms race in international relations. ‘Their biggest mistake is that they regard power as a source of justice,’ said Ahmadinejad.
The Iranian president also accused the United States of pursuing a policy of producing nuclear weapons. ‘This step externally gave America and its allies the upper hand after the Second World War, but it was also the true factor for the development of nuclear weapons by others and for the arms race,’ Ahmadinejad said.
He also criticised the United States for ‘threatening to use nuclear weapons’.
‘Unfortunately, the American government has both used nuclear weapons and has threatened some countries, including my country, with them, ’the Iranian president said. ‘The Zionist regime also constantly threatens the countries of the Middle East,’ he added.
He also blamed the Western powers for treating nuclear weapons and nuclear energy equally. Nuclear energy is very important for the production of medicines, identification of incurable diseases and many other spheres. ‘Along with weapons, they want to have a monopoly on nuclear energy and thus, force their will on the international community,’ he said.
The Iranian president also noted the ‘lack of balance in NPT provisions and the agency’s missions’. He said that the IAEA has not taken any measures to lift the danger of nuclear weapons. ‘On the pretext of non-proliferation, the agency is putting the greatest pressure on members that do not have these weapons,’ Ahmadinejad said.
He added that nuclear disarmament would be the greatest contribution to the establishment of security, lasting peace and friendship in the world.
At the same time, Ahmadinejad called for the severance of nuclear cooperation with countries that are not members of the NPT and for sanctions against countries that continue to cooperate with non-members.
He also urged joint efforts to reform the structure of the United Nations. ‘The current structure is very unfair and inefficient, and is one of the true factors of support for those who have nuclear weapons,’ Ahmadinejad said.
Ahmadinejad also called on US President Barack Obama for fundamental reforms in international relations based on monotheism and justice. ‘The power of logic will overcome the logic of power, and bullying and bullies will have no place in the world in future.
‘World nations have started their general movement in making fundamental reforms in international relations based on monotheism and justice.
‘I invite Honourable American President Obama to join this humane movement today if he still abides by his motto of change, because tomorrow will be too late.’