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| Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
| Iran after ban on 'threats' against any nuclear site |
| 2009-08-26 |
| [Iran Press TV] Iran says it expects the UN nuclear watchdog to pass a 'legally binding' resolution to impose a ban on military strikes on all nuclear installations across the globe. On August 13, Tehran asked the United Nations to add a paragraph to the agenda of its general conference to study and put to vote a fresh proposal prohibiting any military action targeting any nation's nuclear sites. Iran's ambassador to the IAEA Ali-Asghar Soltaniyeh told Press TV on Monday that Tehran expected 'fruitful constructive talks' on the initiative which is to be presented at the agency's upcoming general conference in September. The request was made through a letter directed at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) Chief Mohamed ElBaradei. More than 100 members of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) also expressed their support for the proposal in a letter to ElBaradei on Monday. Soltaniyeh said on Monday that "the letter was an indication that almost all member states of the IAEA were concerned about any attack or threat of attack against nuclear installations in any country." Calling the proposal 'a matter of great urgency', Soltaniyeh said that during the last 20 years the world has witnessed a rise in the number of nuclear installations, which means that the potential of the threat and also the consequences of the release of radioactive material in case of any attacks have been increased. Soltaniyeh said that he was optimistic that the majority of the member states would support the proposal so that the groundwork would be laid for devising a sort of legally binding instrument defined within the framework of the IAEA, which would protect 'all nuclear installations' across the world. In September 1990, the IAEA General Conference passed a resolution proposed by Iran, titled "Prohibition of All Armed Attacks Against Nuclear Installations Devoted to Peaceful Purposes Whether Under Construction or in Operation." Although similar to the new proposal, the former resolution does not address 'threats' or military strikes on 'all nuclear installations'. If approved, the envoy said the new legally binding instruments would oblige the IAEA as well as the member states to do their best to prevent any attacks on the nuclear facilities of the member states. Iran is thinking of "a sort of legally binding instrument, that in case of an attack, the IAEA as the international technical organization, as well as the member states will feel obliged to assist [the country under the attack]. And before that, of course, if there are threats of an attack, the international community will augment their pressure to prevent such violation from occurring," Soltaniyeh told Press TV. The 53rd Annual Regular Session of the IAEA General Conference is set for September 14-18 at the Vienna International Center (VIC) in Vienna, Austria. |
| Posted by:Fred |
| #2 Well, if Iran tells us where ALL of their nuclear sites are, then we can be sure not to attack them. We will need the geographic coordinates, as well as a description of how deep they are. Just so we know, ya know. |
| Posted by: Rambler in Virginia 2009-08-26 21:54 |
| #1 They should talk to Berkeley on the wording. It's unlawful to detonate a nuclear device inside the Berzerkley city limits, you know. I expect there's a hefty fine involved, although it's unclear just who would collect it. |
| Posted by: mojo 2009-08-26 16:38 |