Speaking at the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons on Dec. 08, Iran’s envoy and representative to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Reza Najafi noted that humanity has been living in fear of nuclear weapons ever since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the US were carried out and added, “nuclear weapons cannot distinguish between civilians and combatants. The possession of them must not be considered as a source of power, and the so-called ‘safe and reliable’ nuclear weapons is nothing but a myth.”
Najafi stressed that all divine religions are against the use of mass destruction weapons especially the nuclear weapons and said, “we believe that the possession and use of weapons of mass destruction is opposed to our Islamic teachings. The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a victim of such weapons, strongly believes that the possession of them cannot guarantee security for any country.”
Iran's envoy maintained that the only absolute guarantee against the threat of such inhumane weapons was the complete elimination of them under strict international control, and added, “at the opening of the 16th Non-Aligned Movement summit on May 30 in Tehran, Iran’s Leader had strongly condemned the use of nuclear and chemical weapons as an unforgivable sin.”
“Although a great number of countries including NAM members have demanded the realization of nuclear disarmament as a fundamental component of NPT, the process of disarmament has not been much promising,” said Najafi, stressing that any country that opposed the use and possession of nuclear weapons had to first start with itself.
While asserting that Iran was the first country to propose in 1974 the initiative of creating a region void of nuclear weapons in the Middle East as a significant disarmament measure, he said, “the Zionist regime enjoying political and military support from some permanent members of the UN Security Council, neither has joined the NPT nor placed its illegal nuclear facilities under the IAEA comprehensive safeguards agreements. Their clandestine nuclear activities are a serious threat to the regional as well as international peace and security.”
Representatives from around 150 countries attended the Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons which took place in Vienna on Monday.
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