Iran wants world ban on nuclear weapons

Iran wants to ban all nuclear weapons through an international treaty, the country's foreign minister said at the UN's Conference on Disarmament. "The time has come to ban and eliminate all nuclear weapons," Manouchehr Mottaki told the conference. The UN Security Council on Mar. 3 slapped another round of sanctions on Iran over its refusal to suspend nuclear enrichment activities, while in Vienna, the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) attempted to convince Tehran to cooperate. Western states have accused Tehran of pursuing a nuclear program under cover of energy production, a charge it has firmly denied. Iran's foreign minister said during the meeting in Geneva that it is necessary to "start negotiations to reach a convention on the ban of stocks and the production of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction." During the conference, he questioned the right of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council to possess nuclear arms. "The winners of the Second World War have claimed this right and imposed it on the international community," he said. "Today, the right of veto and the right to possess nuclear arms has become a monetary exchange to obtain illegitimate rights," he added. Iran also supported a proposal from Russia and China to ban weapons in space. The project, which was presented on Feb. 12 by Russia during the Conference on Disarmament, suggested banning the deployment of all types of arms in space. The US has opposed such a treaty. The UN Conference on Disarmament brokered key Cold War accords such as the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, but has made scant progress over the last decade as the 65 members remain at odds on future priorities. Iran: UN must investigate Israel's nukes The next day, Iran demanded that the IAEA investigate "how Israel became a nuclear superpower." "What was the rationale that guided the governments of France and other nations in supplying the Zionist regime with nuclear weapons?" Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki asked at a UN session in Geneva on Mar. 4. Mottaki also called for a worldwide nuclear disarmament, claiming that "[nuclear] weapons are just as illegal as chemical and biological weapons." Israel has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and according to numerous reports has a large arsenal of nuclear weapons. Mottaki's comments came days after the UN Security Council approved new sanctions on Iran for its refusal to halt uranium enrichment. Teheran rejected the new UN resolution, calling it "worthless" and "politically-motivated." "This resolution is contrary to the spirit and articles of the International Atomic Energy Agency. It has been issued based on political motivations and a biased approach. It is worthless and unacceptable," Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Muhammad Ali Hosseini said.