Iran slams US over failing to meet chemical weapons deadline
Iran has criticized the US, one of the possessors of the largest stockpiles of chemical weapons in the world, for failing to meet the April 29, 2012 deadline for the elimination of its chemical arsenals.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister for Legal and International Affairs Muhammad Mehdi Akhoundzadeh expressed regret that those countries possessing weapons of mass destruction, with the US on top of them, have failed to meet the deadline for elimination of chemical arsenals.
His remarks came in a meeting with Head of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Ahmet Uzumcu, ISNA reported Saturday.
Akhoundzadeh called on the OPCW to do its best to compel countries possessing chemical weapons to eliminate their arsenals as soon as possible.
“Non-compliance with the elimination deadline will undermine public confidence in international mechanisms as a result of the violation of global treaties by certain countries,” he said.
He referred to the positive and significant role of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) in following up on issues pertaining to disarmament, including the proposed deadline for nuclear disarmament by 2025.
He said that Iran, as the next head of NAM, will do its best so that the issue of disarmament, due to the destructive and negative consequences of weapons of mass destruction on the world and humans, will be high on the agenda of the organization.
The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is the implementation arm of the Chemical Weapons Convention Based in The Hague.
Iran is a member of the Executive Council of the OPCW.
Source: presstv.com
