Iran Urges Pressure on “Israel” to Disarm

Local Editor

Iran has called on the international community to pressure the "Israeli" regime into joining international treaties on disarmament.

"The international community, in particular the powerful members of the [Chemical Weapons] Convention (CWC) should pressure the Zionist regime (Israel) to join binding international treaties on disarmament," Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh said on Monday during the 15th session of the conference of CWC member states at The Hague.

He said that "Israel's" covert program to develop weapons of mass destruction, including chemical weapons, posed the greatest threat to the Middle East.

The Iranian official described the annihilation of chemical weapons as the main objective of the CWC and said the convention's credibility will be called into question if such weapons are not completely destroyed within the set time frame of April 29, 2012.

He also condemned Washington's sale of such weapons to regimes that are not signatories to the CWC, including "Israel".

Akhondzadeh insisted that such policies undermine the integrity and credibility of the convention.

He said that all CWC parties possessing chemical weapons were committed under the convention to destroy chemical weapons by that time, although evidence suggest that the US and Russia, two major possessors of chemical weapons, are failing to fulfill their commitment.

Akhoundzadeh called on all CWC member countries holding chemical weapons, including the US and Russia, to meet their obligations and stick to the set time.
Source: Press TV