Iran slams West's double standards on Israeli nukes

Rasa - Iran asks the United Nations nuclear agency to take Israel’s nuclear activities into “serious” consideration, lambasting the West’s duplicitous policies concerning the regime’s military nuclear capability.

News ID: 430377

Date: 16 June 2017 - 16:44

RNA - Reza Najafi, Iran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the remarks to the quarterly meeting of the agency’s Board of Governors on Thursday.

“Unfortunately, the Zionist regime [of Israel], has over the past years, continued to advance its military nuclear program in contravention of all international regulations by ignoring the international community’s legitimate calls, and thanks to the blind support by some countries,” he stated.

Israel is estimated to have 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal. The regime, however, refuses to either accept or deny having the weapons.

It has also evaded signing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) amid staunch endeavor by the United States and other Western states on international levels in favor of its non-commitment to the accord.

Najafi considered Israel’s nuclear activities to be a source of concern for regional countries and the entire international community, accusing the West of double standards in its treatment of Tel Aviv’s nuclear program.

The Iranian official further highlighted repeated international calls for Israel to join the NPT and put all its nuclear facilities under IAEA supervision, stressing that Israel’s continued non-membership of the treaty sullies its reputation.

He added that Israeli scientists enjoy free access to the nuclear facilities of some nuclear-armed countries, while Tel Aviv-hired terrorists assassinate nuclear scientists of NPT members.

Addressing the Board’s previous meeting, the Iranian official said the Israeli regime had hired hit men to assassinate nuclear scientists all over the Middle East.

Four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated by the Israeli regime between 2010 and 2012. Iran has incriminated the IAEA for leaking information about the four scientists to the Israeli regime.

The American and European delegations to the session reportedly took great exception to the envoy’s comments.

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