Tehran, YJC. Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has renewed Tehran’s call for turning the Middle East into a nuclear-free zone.
Reza Najafi said that Iran welcomes all efforts aimed at disarming
countries of nuclear warheads and strongly propagates the creation of a
nukes-free Middle East.
Najafi made the remarks on Tuesday during a speech at an
international confab on the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons held in Vienna,
Austria.
He said that Iran presented the proposition of a nukes-free
Middle East in 1974, adding that the idea is strongly backed international
community.
He pointed out that Israel is the main obstacle to the
realization of the idea as the country, backed by a number of UN Security
Council members, refuses to sign the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and give
the IAEA permission to investigate its nuclear activities.
The Israeli regime, which has so far rejected all international
nuclear agreements on nuclear regulation, maintains a policy of deliberate
ambiguity over its facilities and range of nuclear activities.