Iran calls for global elimination of nuclear weapons

Iran demands the elimination of the entire global stockpile of nuclear weapons because it poses the greatest threat to humanity, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said at the Conference on Disarmament.

"Iran demands total elimination of all nuclear weapons, which is the greatest man-made threat for the entire humanity. A total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only effective and reliable way to prevent the repetition of tragedies, similar to Hiroshima and Nagasaki," the Minister said in his statement, published on the Foreign Ministry’s official Telegram channel, TASS reports.

The Foreign Minister also said that Iran, "which has become the largest victim of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) after World War II after the Saddam Hussein regime used chemical weapons [during the Iran-Iraq war of 1980-1988], underscores that the only guarantee that WMDs, including nuclear weapons, will never be used is its total, irreversible and verifiable elimination."

He added that Iran is "convinced that the integrity and viability of the Non-Proliferation Treaty depend on total fulfilment of all included obligations, including Article 6, which states that nuclear powers must hold negotiations on efficient and result-oriented denuclearization."

According to the foreign minister, "if all Conference member states, especially nuclear powers, display a political will and fulfil their disarmament obligations, it will be possible to find a way out of the impasse that the Conference finds itself in."

He expressed regret that "the collective efforts to establish a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East remain fruitless because of the US and its allies."

"In the circumstances, when the international security situation deteriorates, nuclear disarmament is a necessity, not a choice," Abdollahian concluded.