Ghraibabadi: Israeli Entity Must Be Forced to Join the NPT

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi stressed that the international community should oblige the Israeli occupation entity to join the Treaty on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT).

“The Israeli entity, the sole party that possesses nuclear arsenal in our region, and with the support of the United States, has opposed all initiatives, including the Iranian proposal since 1974, to denuclearize the Middle East,” Gharibabadi was quoted by IRNA News Agency as saying yesterday at the high-level meeting of the UN General Assembly on “promoting the International Day for the Complete Elimination of Nuclear Weapons”.

Abadi stressed that in order to demonstrate the international community’s genuine will to completely eliminate nuclear weapons, the Israeli entity must accede to the NPT as a non-nuclear member and subject  all its nuclear facilities and activities to  comprehensive safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

He added: “The nuclear-weapon States, especially the NATO member States, make resonant statements on their” commitment to nuclear disarmament as a future goal “, and while calling on other States to make immediate commitments regarding non-proliferation, they themselves pursue destructive policies that serve their interests and weaken common security.

Stressing the need for collective action to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world, the Iranian official said: “only through cooperation and a genuine commitment to nuclear disarmament, a safer and more peaceful future can be ensured for all countries”.

Amal Farhat