Dehqani: Iran backing opposition to nuke-holding states

'I hope that this measure by the non-nuclear states will make the owners of such weapons to come to the conclusion that they cannot shrug shoulders from fulfilling their explicit legal commitments towards NPT commitments for complete annihilation of nuclear weapons and this alarming situation cannot continue forever,' Dehqani, director general for political and international security affairs at Iran's Foreign Ministry said, addressing the first meeting of NPT preparatory committee.

Dehqani described nuclear-armed countries' refusal to 'fulfill their nuclear disarmament commitments over the past 47 years' as the main challenge to the implementation of the NPT.

He made the remarks during the 2020 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in the Austrian capital city of Vienna on Wednesday.

Dehqani also criticized nuclear-armed countries for their failure to comply with their commitments to dismantle their nuclear arsenals.

He reiterated the need for countries to meet their obligations under Article VI of the NPT, and said the fulfillment of countries' nuclear commitments was neither arbitrary nor conditional.

Dehqani also voiced concern about Israel’s nuclear arsenal, and said the Tel Aviv regime’s nuclear weapons posed a threat to peace and security in the region and the world.

Israel, which pursues a policy of deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear weapons, is estimated to have 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal. The regime has refused to allow inspections of its military nuclear facilities or sign the NPT.

The preparatory committee, which opened in Austria on May 2 and will conclude on May 12, is responsible for addressing substantive and procedural issues related to the NPT.

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