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link to rense.com]
Iran: Israel's election to UN
Disarmament 'ridiculous'
Iran's UN ambassador said it was "absolutely ridiculous" that Israel was elected to be a vice-chair of the UN Disarmament Commission, claiming it has been singled out as a threat to peace and security in the Middle East.
Ambassador Javad Zarif also lashed out at criticism in Israel of Iran's election to be a vice-chair of the commission, calling it absurd that a country which hasn't signed an international disarmament treaty "has the audacity to talk about another country having a seat."
Zarif's criticism follows Ahmadinejad's repeated questioning of Israel's right to exist and threat to wipe Israel off the map. Israel has for years regarded Iran as the primary threat to its survival, disputing Tehran's claims that its nuclear program is peaceful.
"We are not surprised that Iran is continuing in its attempt to divert the international community's attention from the real problem, which is Iran's threat to global security and stability arising from its nuclear program," said Meir Itzchaki, deputy director for arms control in the Foreign Ministry.
"It is disappointing that Iran, once again, is choosing to take advantage of the UN to promote their anti-Semitic agenda and their culture of hatred and terror while acting in total defiance of their international obligations and demands set out by the UN Security Council" and the board of governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Itzchaki said.
Iran's decision in February to start enriching uranium, for what it insists is a peaceful nuclear energy program to produce electricity, led to its referral to the Security Council. Tehran has refused to comply with the council's demand to stop enrichment . The United States, which believes Tehran's real goal is to produce nuclear weapons, is planning to introduce a council resolution shortly that would make its demand to suspend enrichment
compulsory.
Zarif, who chaired the UN Disarmament Commission in 2000, noted that Iran is a party to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, considered the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament efforts, while Israel is not. Israel, which is believed to possess nuclear weapons, has refused to sign the treaty along with nuclear rivals India and Pakistan.
"I think it's a rather interesting question that a regime that is not a member of any international treaty, has been recognized by the Security Council time and again as the single most serious threat to the peace and security of the Middle East, has been violating every single Security Council resolution that has been adopted about the Middle East ... has a seat in the Disarmament Commission, and has the audacity to talk about another country having a seat,"
Zarif told a group of reporters at a lunch he hosted.
"That is absolutely ridiculous," he said. "It's pushing the issue to the border of absurdity."
The Disarmament Commission's missions include trying to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and ensure that atomic energy is used only for peaceful purposes.
Israel and Iran were among eight vice-chairs elected at its current meeting, which began April 10 and ends Friday. Topics on its agenda include "Recommendations for achieving the objective of nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation of nuclear weapons" and "Practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional weapons."
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link to www.haaretzdaily.com]
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