[DoctorZIn]

Pressed Over Nuclear Arms, Iran Slams US, Israel

Fri Sep 24, 2004 04:34 PM ET

By Irwin Arieff

UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Iran, under fire on suspicion of secretly seeking nuclear arms, accused the United States on Friday of "lawless militarism" in Iraq and called Israel the biggest threat to peace in the Middle East.

"The attack against Iraq was illegal," Iranian Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi told the U.N. General Assembly, thanking U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan for publicly stating the same in a television interview last week.

The invasion was an example of "increasing lawless militarism," involving "the use of brute and unsanctioned military force to achieve some political goals, albeit desirable goals," said Kharrazi, explaining that his country, which fought an eight-year war with its neighbor, had "benefited greatly by the removal of Saddam Hussein."

Kharrazi said Israel, which is widely believed to have nuclear weapons but declines to acknowledge them, had systematically thwarted U.N. efforts to make the Middle East a nuclear-free zone.

"All countries of the region and beyond are unanimous in considering the Israeli arsenal, including its weapons of mass destruction, combined with its policy and record of aggression and state terrorism, as the single greatest threat to regional and global peace and security," he said.

"Israeli cannot hide these facts behind smoke screens. It is time for the international community to show its resolve to maintain the credibility of multilateral disarmament instruments by taking action to compel Israel to comply," he said.

The United States accuses Iran of using a domestic nuclear energy program as a cover for developing nuclear arms and wants the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency to send the matter to the U.N. Security Council for possible sanctions.

Britain, France and Germany are pressing Tehran to renounce any weapons-related activities in return for cooperation on peaceful nuclear energy and closer economic ties.

But Iran instead said this week it had begun processing raw uranium for enrichment, a preliminary step to making a bomb.

Washington also accuses Iran of fueling attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq and backing anti-Israeli Hizbollah guerrillas in southern Lebanon.

But Kharrazi sought to turn the tables on his critics, calling his country "a victim of terrorism" and urging a more collective global fight against the scourge.

"No state can even come close to doing it alone," he said.

[freedom44]

Iran Defends Nuclear Program
Peter Heinlein
United Nations
24 Sep 2004, 21:58 UTC

http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=55A94FDE-BBA3-4100-A2494B5D630F2769

Kamal Kharrazi
Iran's foreign minister Kamal Kharrazi has insisted on his country's right to a peaceful nuclear program. Mr. Kharrazi's speech to the U.N. General Assembly also included a sharp condemnation the invasion of Iraq.
Foreign Minister Kharrazi told the Assembly Iran has been in the forefront of efforts to ban nuclear weapons. But he said, through interpreter, Iran maintains its right to pursue a peaceful nuclear program.

"The legitimate disarmament and non-proliferation concerns of the international community must be addressed through transparency and vigorous application of monitoring mechanisms," he said. "Iran has always been prepared to contribute actively to this global effort. While we insist on our right to technology for peaceful purposes, we have left and will leave no stone unturned in order to provide assurances of our peaceful intentions."

Mr. Kharrazi's comments came as European diplomats said they are trying to persuade Iran to abandon its uranium enrichment program, and may soon support U.S. demands for tougher action. French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier told U.N. journalists Friday that Iran's nuclear program might soon be referred to the Security Council.

Tehran's government has repeatedly said its nuclear program is strictly for peaceful domestic energy needs.

Mr. Kharrazi's General Assembly speech included a sharp condemnation of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. He called it an example of lawless militarism.

"A clear example of this lawlessness is the attack against Iraq. Attack against Iraq was illegal," he added.

Mr. Kharrazi thanked Secretary-General Kofi Annan for using the word "illegal" to describe the invasion during a British television interview this month.

At the same time, he said Iranians had benefited from Saddam Hussein's removal, and said many in Iran are joyous at seeing him behind bars. But he said as a matter of principle, the invasion that brought his arrest cannot but be viewed as the fruit of a forbidden tree.