Iran Calls for a World Free of Chemical Weapons

Iranian Foreign has called for a world free of chemical weapons reminding the international community of its legal and ethical duty to provide compensation for the victims of chemical weapons.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, in a written message read out in a ceremony held in the city of Sardasht in West Azarbaijan province on Monday, urged the international community to prevent the repetition of such catastrophic events.

The Sardasht chemical attack should become a symbolic event for taking collective actions against war crimes and the use of the Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs), Zarif said in his message marking the 29th anniversary of the 1987 chemical bombing of the city located in northwestern Iran.

Iran’s top diplomat also warned against new chemical attacks by the terrorists who have access to chemical weapons.

The bitter incidents of Halabcheh and Sardasht chemical attacks are being repeated in the region, Zarif said.

The dominant powers are repeating their past mistakes by equipping terrorist groups, including Daesh (ISIS), with chemical weapons and germ bombs in Syria and Iraq, he said.

Iranian foreign minister said that the Islamic Republic condemns any activities related to the WMDs.

Iran wants elimination of WMDs from all arsenals, he said.

Offering his condolences to the chemically injured people and families of the victims, Zarif noted that the anniversary of Sardasht chemical attack is an opportunity to remind the international community’s responsibility towards the chemically injured people.

Nineteen years after the execution of Chemical Weapons Convention Implementation Act of 1998, the time has come to annihilate all chemical weapons possessed by the member states and prevent reproduction of these types of arms, he said.

The Islamic Republic will pursue the rights of all chemically injured people and families of the victims in the international bodies, the official added.

A ceremony was held today in Sardasht with the presence of chemically injured people and bereaved families of the victims, local officials and Iraqi Kurdistan Region Minister of Martyrs and Anfal Affairs Mahmoud Haji Salih to mark the June 28 catastrophic event.

Some 116 citizens of Sardasht were martyred and over 5,000 people were wounded by the deadly chemical attack.

IRNA

R.S