Takht-Ravanchi: US Nuclear Modernization Violates NPT
EghtesadOnline: Iran’s UN ambassador accused the United States of violating the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty by modernizing its nuclear weapons instead of moving toward disarmament.
Ambassador Majid Takht-Ravanchi cited progress in achieving a universal ban on nuclear explosions and the broader objective of nuclear disarmament, AP reported.
However, he said, “Unfortunately, currently, there are two alarming races: new nuclear arms race and nuclear arms modernization race.”
The Iranian ambassador told UN General Assembly’s commemoration of the International Day Against Nuclear Tests on Monday that “irresponsible policies” like those of the US “are detrimental to all international efforts toward nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and therefore must come to an end.”
According to Financial Tribune, he stressed that voluntary moratoriums on nuclear testing “cannot substitute for a comprehensive universal and verifiable, legally binding prohibition on all types of nuclear explosions, including in alternative ways.”
Takht-Ravanchi called for redoubled efforts to pursue “the noble objective of the total elimination of nuclear weapons”.