Iran angered by new UN chief’s nuclear talk
(AFP)18 January 2007
TEHERAN - Iran on Thursday condemned remarks by the UN’s new Secretary General Ban Ki-moon that its nuclear ambitions posed a threat to international security.
“The remarks by Ban Ki-moon are contrary to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty which emphasises the right of nations to use nuclear energy for peaceful ends,” said foreign ministry spokesman Mohammad Ali Hosseini.
“We think that the positions and attitudes of the secretary general should be in line with the United Nations charter,” Hosseini added, according to the ISNA news agency.
Hosseini told the new secretary general, who succeeded Kofi Annan at the start of this year, to concentrate instead on the ”serious dangers and threats to world peace represented by Israel’s nuclear arsenal”.
Ban said he and US President George W. Bush agreed earlier this week that Iran’s nuclear programme was “one of the serious issues which threaten peace and security of the world”.
He also said Iran’s sensitive uranium enrichment “has very serious and wide implications for not only the Middle East but also all around the world”.
The UN Security Council in December imposed its first ever sanctions against Iran over its failure to suspend uranium enrichment, which Western powers fear could be used to make a nuclear weapon.
However Iran insists that its nuclear drive is solely aimed at generating energy for a growing population.
Ban rejected any preemptive military action on Iran by states that felt threatened by Tehran’s nuclear activities, saying it ”should be discussed” at the Security Council.
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