Speaking in the closing ceremony of the 10th Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference in New York on Saturday, Asadollah Eshragh Jahromi said that the Islamic Republic of Iran remains steadfast in its support for upholding the integrity of the NPT in all three pillars.
The full text of his statement is as follows:
Mr. President,
I would like to begin by sincerely appreciating your hard efforts, diligence and serenity in steering the work of this Review Conference.
I would also like to associate with the statement made by Indonesia on behalf of the Non Aligned Movement
The Islamic Republic of Iran shared the desire to see that the Conference could conclude its work successfully by adoption of a meaningful final document.
But unfortunately that is not the case. My delegation believes that the draft final document falls short of a meaningful outcome document due to the following reasons:
First and foremost, the issue of the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East is of fundamental importance to Iran. However, the current text on the Middle East in the draft final document contained in paragraphs 165 to 172 is the product of a non-transparent and non-inclusive process which Iran was not part of that. My delegation was never given an opportunity to participate in consultations regarding the text and its drafting.
On substance, the text on the Middle East continues to disregard the agreed basis and language on the Middle East issue endorsed and adopted by the 2000 and 2010 Review Conferences in which the urgency of achieving universality of the Treaty in the Middle East and the importance of Israel’s accession to the Treaty and the placement of all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive IAEA safeguards, in realizing the goal of universal adherence to the Treaty in the Middle East were clearly reaffirmed. Several times during this week my delegation did its best effort to engage constructively on this important issue to find a solution to narrow the differences based on the agreed and consensus language of previous Review Conferences. Iran in a spirit of good faith and flexibility was prepared for a compromise but it was not possible to abandon the previous agreements on this issue altogether. However, only due to the intransigent position of one nuclear-weapon States in rejecting the agreed language, the current text on the Middle East issue fails to preserve what was achieved at previous Review Conferences and does not reflect the developments that had taken place since 2010.
The Review Conference should not conceal the basic fact that the Israeli regime is the only party in the Middle East that has not acceded to the NPT and refuses to place its nuclear facilities under the comprehensive safeguards regime of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Moreover, Israel with the assistance and support of the U.S. impedes all serious international efforts to establish a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.
On the nuclear disarmament pillar, there is no concrete, time-bound and measurable commitment by the nuclear-weapon States to make urgent progress over the next review cycle in fulfilling their nuclear disarmament obligations under article VI of the Treaty. There are many clauses in the forward- looking section on disarmament that have been repeatedly misused and interpreted by the nuclear-weapon States as preconditions for implementation of nuclear disarmament obligations.
On the negative security assurances, despite the strong demand of the overwhelming majority of the non-nuclear-weapon States including NAM for adopting an unambiguous declaratory commitment by nuclear-weapons States to not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States, it is disappointing to see that paragraph 32 (b) in the latest revised draft final document presented by the President of this Conference, merely reflects the dangerous position and policy of three NATO’s nuclear-weapon States.
On the nonproliferation pillar, the content of the review and forward-looking part of the draft document not only gives new interpretations of the existing obligations of the non-nuclear-weapon States parties under the Treaty and safeguards agreement but also imposes new commitments and constraints on them. The outcome documents of the Review Conferences should not impose new commitments on non-nuclear-weapon States while the nuclear-weapon States are not complying with their nuclear disarmament obligations and commitments and there is a lack of progress in this regard.
The Islamic Republic of Iran remains steadfast in its support for upholding the integrity of the NPT in all three pillars. The continuing crisis of non-compliance with nuclear disarmament obligations as well as the failure to implement relevant disarmament commitments agreed at the Review Conferences has seriously undermined confidence in the Treaty. There is an urgent need for progress on implementation of nuclear disarmament obligations by nuclear-weapon States. The balance of the NPT should be restored by full, effective and urgent implementation of nuclear disarmament obligations.
MA/IRN84868071
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