- 18 sept 2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GbYEyP7eLWg -
'IAEA adopts no resolution on Iran'
The Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has ended its meeting without adopting a resolution on Iran, the Islamic Republic's envoy to the nuclear watchdog says.
The board members adopted no resolution on Iran during their five-day meeting which drew to a close on Friday, Ali-Asghar Soltanieh told IRNA.
"In the meeting, the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) member states issued a very important and historic statement, highlighting the need for the IAEA Secretariat and Director General to revise the process of issuing reports and adopt a professional and unbiased approach," he added.
During the event, it was also stressed that the agency has a responsibility toward issues concerning IAEA members, Soltanieh said.
He said lengthy discussions about Israel's nuclear threat were among the highlights of the five-day meeting, indicating that Tel Aviv's atomic threat remains a cause for concern despite US and Western support for Israel.
"The Zionist regime's representative and his few supporters were not able to respond to the NAM member states' rightful objections and only brought up Iran's nuclear issue%u2026 to derail the discussion, but failed to do so," the Iranian envoy said.
Soltanieh stressed that Iran, as an IAEA member state, will continue to work closely with the nuclear watchdog and hopes the agency will get back on track and act in line with its 'Articles of Association.'
http://www.presstv.com/detail/142935.html 31 mar 2012, 23:18 , Respect -
Maria 19 sept 2010
'IAEA should observe impartiality'
Iranian lawmaker Hossein Sobhani-Nia
A senior Iranian lawmaker has criticized the recent two reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) on Iran, saying the agency should observe impartiality.
"As we have already announced, Iran has had very good cooperation with the IAEA even beyond the agency's regulations. We expect the IAEA to observe complete impartiality in its statements," a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iran's Parliament (Majlis), Hossein Sobhani-Nia, told ISNA on Saturday.
"However, in its recent two reports, the IAEA head [Yukiya] Amano had a one-sided judgment," he went on to say.
The parliamentarian also expressed dissatisfaction with the IAEA's move to send its reports about the country's nuclear program to "irresponsible" bodies, saying, "Iran will take stance on the issue."
He further reiterated that the IAEA is a multinational organization belonging to all countries, saying, "Thus, the IAEA inspectors should observe complete impartiality."
Sobhani-Nia's remark come as the latest report by the IAEA criticizes Iran for "hampering" the efforts of the agency's inspectors visiting Iranian nuclear facilities.
In June, the Islamic Republic barred two IAEA inspectors from entering the country. The inspectors in question were not named.
Head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran Ali Akbar Salehi explained then that the two inspectors had been barred from entry over passing "false information about Iran's nuclear program to the IAEA and revealing information precipitately."
IAEA inspectors have conducted more inspections in Iran than in any other NPT signatory state and have confirmed that there has been no diversion of nuclear material from civilian to military applications.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/143063.html 31 mar 2012, 23:18 , Respect -
Maria 19 sept 2010
Medal for Israeli nuclear whistleblower
Former Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu
A human rights organization has planned to present a peace prize to the whistleblower of Israel's secret nuclear program.
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) said it would give the award to former Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu, the Israeli newspaper Maariv reported on Sunday.
Vanunu will receive the 2010 Carl von Ossietzky medal. German journalist Ossietzky won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1935 for speaking out against the Nazi Party.
Vanunu learned about Israeli's secret production of plutonium for nuclear weapons while working at the Dimona nuclear power plant from 1976 to 1985 as a technician.
In 1986, he disclosed details of the nuclear program during an interview with the Sunday Times.
Vanunu said Israel was fast developing nuclear weapons after he showed 60 photographs of Israeli plutonium spheres used for triggers in nuclear warheads.
Vanunu's data showed that Israel possessed over 200 bombs with boosted devices, neutron bombs, F-16 deliverable warheads, and Jericho warheads.
Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize a number of times in the past, Vanunu was abducted by Israeli agents after the 1986 interview and spent 18 years in prison, including more than 11 years in solitary confinement.
After his release in 2004, Israel restricted his movements and contacts. He was arrested again for violating those restrictions on several occasions.
In May 2010, Vanunu was arrested and sentenced to three months in jail on suspicion of having met foreigners in violation of the conditions of his 2004 release.
"I am honored to inform you that the council has decided to provide Mordechai Vanunu, the medal," said FIDH President Prof. Fanny Michaela Arizen.
"I am honored to receive this award," Vanunu wrote in reply, adding "I'll receive it on one condition -- that I myself can be personally present to receive it. If you cannot promise me that condition, I prefer that you not give me the prize and leave the option to me when I'm free."
http://www.presstv.com/detail/143061.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KMvawO51PiM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tk_fqooGe3o - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jXz-3dYHqNc
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Maria Press TV-Fine Print-IAEA & Israel's Nuclear Weapons -20-09-2010
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oq7bmzYbuuY
The US ambassador to the IAEA, Glyn Davies, has urged Arab states to withdraw a resolution calling on Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Davies warns that the resolution could have a negative impact on the US-backed talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PBGTraTy5Ns
The European Union joined the United States in arguing at an International Atomic Energy Agency meeting that zeroing in on the Jewish state would jeopardize a proposed conference in 2012 on the creation of a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ly56HkfjTBs
Meanwhile, Politicians, lobbyists, and propagandists have spent nearly two decades pushing the lie that Iran poses a nuclear weapons threat to the United States and Israel.
Let's watch this edition of Fine Print and see what Amir Arfa and his guests have to say about the issue. 31 mar 2012, 23:19 , Respect -
Maria 21 sept 2010
Israel rejects offer to join UN atomic agency
In response to Arab initiative, Israel's Atomic Energy Commission chief says Jewish state only country to be singled out, asked to take decision against its national interests
It is against Israel's interests to join a global anti-nuclear arms treaty and the UN atomic watchdog is overstepping its mandate in demanding it to do so, the Jewish state's nuclear chief said on Tuesday.
Arab states have tabled a resolution at the International Atomic Energy Agency annual conference in Vienna for Israel fore swear nuclear weapons and sign up to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"Israel is not the only member state ... that has exercised its sovereign right not to accede to the NPT due to its national security considerations," Israel's Atomic Energy Commission chief Shaul Horev said.
"Yet Israel is the only state that has been singled out, and is called upon to take a decision which is against its best national interests," he told the conference.
"Indeed, the advancement of states' accessions to international treaties does not fall within the mandate of the (IAEA)," he said.
The Jewish state is the only Middle East power believed to possess nuclear weapons.
Horev said the resolution tabled by the Arab states was part of a "political campaign to defame the state of Israel".
It was "incompatible with basic principles and norms of international law and does not fall within the mandate of the agency as defined in its statute," he said.
"Moreover, this resolution ... ignores the adverse reality in the Middle East region," Horev said.
He said that Middle East states such as Iran, Syria, Libya and Iraq under Saddam Hussein - all signatories to the NPT - had "grossly violated their treaty obligations".
Threat from within
"These four cases make it absolutely clear that the NPT is unable to adequately address the security challenges in the Middle East region where the treaty has been most abused," Horev said.
"The serious threat to the NPT and the non-proliferation regime is posed from within by those states that pursue nuclear weapons under the cover of their NPT membership."
The Arab states' resolution, which has been tabled every year for the past few years, is expected to be debated on Thursday.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3958321,00.html 31 mar 2012, 23:19 , Respect -
Maria 21 sept 2010
Israel blasts call for denuclearization
The Israeli nuclear agency has once again criticized efforts by Arab countries to push Tel Aviv into becoming a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In a speech delivered on Tuesday, Israeli Atomic Energy Organization Director General Shaul Chorev blasted what he called "continuous ill-motivated efforts to single out and to condemn" Israel.
The Israeli official's reaction came in response to a non-binding resolution, which urges Israel to join a global anti-nuclear arms treaty.
Arab states introduced the resolution at this week's annual assembly of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The "proposed resolution is incompatible with basic principles and norms of international law," Reuters quoted Chorev as saying in his address to the IAEA gathering.
As a staunch supporter of Tel Aviv, Washington has warned Arab countries to withdraw the draft resolution, saying it will jeopardize direct talks between the Palestinian Authority and Israel.
The UN nuclear watchdog has so far refused to ratify any resolutions to condemn Israel's nuclear activities. This is while Israel is widely believed to be the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East.
IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano recently reported to the agency's Board of Governors about the Israeli nuclear program, saying that Tel Aviv was restricting the agency from examining its nuclear potentials.
The report called on Israel to join the NPT and "place all its nuclear facilities under comprehensive IAEA safeguards," with no enforcement measure.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/143416.html 31 mar 2012, 23:19 , Respect -
Maria 21 sept 2010
Gul: In old times, flotilla raid would lead to war
Turkish president calls on Israel to take responsibility for deadly raid on Gaza-bound ship, says region should be free of nuclear weapons.
Turkish President Abdullah Gul said he will call for a Middle East totally free of nuclear weapons when he addresses the UN General Assembly later this week.
"We would like to see our region free of nuclear weapons," Gul told The Associated Press in an interview on Monday. "The region should not be under such a threat."
Gul said he intends to raise the issue when he addresses the world body on Thursday.
Gul has called in the past for a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East, but his latest comments come amid deteriorating relations with Israel following the May 31 Israeli commando raid on a Turkish ferry that was part of an aid flotilla attempting to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip. Eight Turks and a Turkish-American were killed.
Israel is generally assumed to have assembled a sizable arsenal of nuclear warheads since the 1960s, but declines to discuss its status as a nuclear power.
Gul's remarks will likely antagonize the United States, because Washington sees any move to raise the issue of Israel's nuclear arsenal as potentially destabilizing at a time of renewed Israel-Palestinian peace talks.
Last week, the Obama administration warned Arab nations that they risk contributing to a failure of the Mideast talks if they continue to pressure Israel over its nuclear program. US officials have asserted that it would be possible to have a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East even if Israel's arsenal remains intact.
Gul said Turkey, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the UN Security Council, only wants to ensure stability and security in the region.
The US has been more concerned about the nuclear program in Iran, which is under four sets of Security Council sanctions for refusing to stop its uranium enrichment and ignoring other UN demands meant to ease global concerns that it is seeking to make atomic weapons.
'We cannot accuse Iran'
Tehran maintains that all of its nuclear activities are for peaceful purposes. But the International Atomic Energy Agency says it cannot confirm that because Iran has only selectively cooperated with the UN watchdog agency and has rejected several nuclear inspectors.
"Iran must do what it has thus far failed to do %u2013 meet its obligations and ensure the rest of the world of the peaceful nature of its intentions," US Energy Secretary Steven Chu told delegates in Vienna Monday for the IAEA'S General Conference.
Gul said Turkish officials do not assume that Iran has a fully peaceful nuclear program, but "of course we cannot accuse Iran" of pursuing nuclear weapons without evidence.
"We want Iran to be transparent" with the IAEA officials, he said. "We in Turkey would like to see a peaceful, a diplomatic solution to this problem."
Turkey has opposed sanctions against Iran as ineffective and damaging to its interests with an important neighbor. Instead, Turkey and Brazil, to Washington's annoyance, have tried to broker a deal under which Iran would send much of its low enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for the higher enriched uranium it needs for a research reactor. However, the deal did not mandate a halt to Iran's enrichment process and fell short of UN demands.
Turkey, a member of the NATO alliance, has been governed by an Islamic-rooted party since 2002 that has tried to improve relations with Iran.
Gul said Israel's deadly attack on the flotilla attempting to breach the Israeli blockade of Gaza would be best handled under international law, but also suggested that Israel still needs to take public responsibility for the attack.
"It is not possible to act as though this incident did not take place," he said. "In the old world, in the old times, if such an incident were to take place, wars would follow. But in our world today, it is international law that has to be taken into consideration.
"It is up to Israel. They have to do what is necessary since they are the ones that created the incident," he said.
Scrapped meeting
Earlier news reports had said that Gul and President Shimon Peres planned to meet in New York this week on the sidelines of the Clinton Global Initiative being held alongside the gathering of world leaders.
Gul told the AP that no such meeting had ever been scheduled. Peres said Monday that the planned meeting was scrapped because Turkey had set unacceptable conditions.
Turkey has repeatedly demanded that Israel apologize for the flotilla raid, and senior Israeli officials on Monday confirmed that Gul had made such an apology a condition for the meeting.
"I got some conditions which made this meeting in my judgment not a positive one," Peres told reporters as the UN General Assembly's Millennium Development Goals summit was getting under way.
Two international panels are looking into the flotilla attack: the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, and a separate UN panel formed by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3957992,00.html 31 mar 2012, 23:19 , Respect -
Maria 22 sept 2010
Egypt hits back at Israel at tense UN nuclear meet
Egypt hit out at Israel on Wednesday for questioning its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, underlining tension between the Jewish state and Arab countries at an annual meeting of the U.N. atomic watchdog.
In an unusually blunt statement at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an Egyptian delegate told its 151-nation assembly that Israel's representative had demonstrated "the full meaning of the word chutzpah." The Yiddish word, also used in the English language, means "gall" or "nerve."
"Unlike Israel, which is widely known to pay no more than lip-service to the objective of a nuclear weapon free Middle East, Egypt's consistent efforts ... are extensively and well documented," Aly Omar Sirry said in English.
Arab countries have put forward a resolution at the IAEA calling on Israel, the only country in the Middle East outside the pact, to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and put all its atomic facilities under the agency's oversight.
The United States says the Arab-led push could upset an Egyptian-proposed conference in 2012 towards establishing a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction and has called for it to be withdrawn. It also warns it would send a "negative" signal to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Israel, widely believed to have the region's only nuclear arsenal, says it will not consider joining the NPT until there is comprehensive Middle East peace. If it signed the pact, it would have to forswear nuclear weaponry.
"FEEBLE ATTEMPTS"
Arab states say there cannot be peace in the Middle East until Israel gives up nuclear arms. Israel has never confirmed nor denied having atomic bombs, under a policy of ambiguity to deter its Arab and Islamic adversaries.
On Tuesday, a senior Israeli official condemned what he called "continuous ill-motivated efforts to single out and to condemn the State of Israel," in his speech to the IAEA's general assembly gathering in Vienna.
Director General Shaul Chorev of Israel's Atomic Energy Organisation also said Egypt, one of the sponsors of the non-binding resolution, "must have lost its interest in the conversion of the Middle East into a nuclear weapons free zone."
Chorev said the "proposed resolution is incompatible with basic principles and norms of international law."
Responding on Wednesday, Sirry, the Egyptian representative, said Israel had chosen "to single itself out" because of its rejection of the NPT. India, Pakistan and North Korea are also outside the voluntary 1970 U.N. treaty.
Sirry added: "Beyond Israel's feeble attempts to question Egypt's steadfast commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, the only purpose that the remarks by the representative of Israel has served was to demonstrate to this body the full meaning of the word chutzpah."
Israel and the United States regard Iran as the Middle East's main proliferation threat, accusing it of seeking to develop atomic weapons in secret. Tehran rejects the charge.
http://yhoo.it/bPVpPA
Egypt hits back at Israel at tense UN meeting on nukes
Delegate at IAEA conference lashes out at Israel for questioning Egypt's commitment to nuclear non-proliferation.
Egypt hit out at Israel on Wednesday for questioning its commitment to nuclear non-proliferation, underlining tension between the Jewish state and Arab countries at an annual meeting of the UN atomic watchdog.
In an unusually blunt statement at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an Egyptian delegate told its 151-nation assembly that Israel's representative had demonstrated "the full meaning of the word chutzpah." The Yiddish word, also used in the English language, means "gall" or "nerve".
"Unlike Israel, which is widely known to pay no more than lip-service to the objective of a nuclear weapon free Middle East, Egypt's consistent efforts ... are extensively and well documented," Aly Omar Sirry said in English.
Arab countries have put forward a resolution at the IAEA calling on Israel, the only country in the Middle East outside the pact, to join the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and put all its atomic facilities under the agency's oversight.
The United States says the Arab-led push could upset an Egyptian-proposed conference in 2012 towards establishing a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction and has called for it to be withdrawn. It also warns it would send a "negative" signal to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Israel, widely believed to have the region's only nuclear arsenal, says it will not consider joining the NPT until there is comprehensive Middle East peace. If it signed the pact, it would have to renounce nuclear weaponry.
Arab states say there cannot be peace in the Middle East until Israel gives up nuclear arms. Israel has never confirmed nor denied having atomic bombs, under a policy of ambiguity to deter its Arab and Islamic adversaries.
On Tuesday, a senior Israeli official condemned what he called "continuous ill-motivated efforts to single out and to condemn the State of Israel," in his speech to the IAEA's general assembly gathering in Vienna.
Director General Shaul Chorev of Israel's Atomic Energy Organization also said Egypt, one of the sponsors of the non-binding resolution, "must have lost its interest in the conversion of the Middle East into a nuclear weapons free zone."
Chorev said the "proposed resolution is incompatible with basic principles and norms of international law."
Responding on Wednesday, Sirry, the Egyptian representative, said Israel had chosen "to single itself out" because of its rejection of the NPT. India, Pakistan and North Korea are also outside the voluntary 1970 U.N. treaty.
Sirry added: "Beyond Israel's feeble attempts to question Egypt's steadfast commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, the only purpose that the remarks by the representative of Israel has served was to demonstrate to this body the full meaning of the word chutzpah."
Israel and the United States regard Iran as the Middle East's main proliferation threat, accusing it of seeking to develop atomic weapons in secret. Tehran rejects the charge.
http://bit.ly/aYewTG 31 mar 2012, 23:19 , Respect -
Maria 23 sept 2010
Egypt envoy to IAEA: Israel's stand on nukes is a 'chutzpah'
Israel criticized at IAEA conference for its refusal to sign non-proliferation treaty; continues efforts to prevent condemnation.
Egypt called Israel's position on nuclear weapons "chutzpah" at the International Atomic Energy Agency's (IAEA) general conference on Wednesday, taking place in Vienna.
Egypt's representative, Ali Omar Sirry, responded to the speech of Israel's representative to the conference by using the Hebrew word, commonly used in English, meaning "shamelessness."
Israel's delegate to the IAEA conference, Dr. Shaul Horev, presented Israel's nuclear policy and explained its refusal to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which aims to limit the spread of nuclear weapons. Horev criticized Egypt for attacking Israel, and mentioned the fact that Egypt has not yet approved the African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty.
In response, Sirry said that Israel's remarks demonstrate the full meaning of the word "chutzpah".
According to Sirry, Egypt is making real efforts to create a nuclear-free Middle-East, while Israel's attempts are merely "lip service".
The IAEA conference is expected to discuss on Thursday the Egyptian proposal to condemn Israel for refusing to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation treaty. The Egyptian proposal also mentions Israel's nuclear reactor facility in Dimona, and requests that international inspectors be able to access to it.
Israel is trying, with the help of the United States and other western countries, to prevent the approval of the Egyptian proposal.
http://bit.ly/bjJ3La 31 mar 2012, 23:19 , Respect -
Maria 24 sept 2010
Arab League chief warns of Mideast arms race
Amr Moussa regrets IAEA decision not to impose regulators on Israeli nuclear facilities, says it is 'inconceivable that only one country will have nuclear weapons,' calls for WMD-free Middle East.
WASHINGTON Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa commented on the IAEA decision not to monitor Israeli nuclear facilities warning that "if Israel maintains its nuclear (facilities) the Middle East is heading towards an arms race."
Speaking at a press conference in New York City Friday, Moussa added that "It is inconceivable that only one country (in the region) will have nuclear weapons. Why should Israel be the only one? The Middle East should be free of all weapons of mass destruction."
Just last month, the Arab League demanded in a letter that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) monitor Israel's nuclear facilities. The letter said the Arab League "implores Israel to join the nuclear non proliferation treaty and allow for external monitoring of its nuclear sites."
Turning his attention to the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and the settlement freeze, Moussa said that "everything now depends on the settlement freeze."
The issue, he said, will be indicative of Israel's earnestness and whether US President Barack Obama would be able to see the negotiation through the harder stages of discussing core issues.
"If (Obama) cannot tell the Israelis to stop settlement construction, will he be able to tell them to compromise on core issues?"
Moussa was quick to tone down his statement, adding he had "every faith in Obama's ability."
Commenting on Obama's remarks regarding the Jewish people's historic link to Israel, Moussa said that "throughout history, this was always Arab land."
The success of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, he concludes, "Would have a positive effect on Syria and Lebanon and the entire atmosphere in the Middle East. Everyone will see it can work and it will lead to positive steps all around."
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3959490,00.html 31 mar 2012, 23:19 , Respect -
Maria 24 sept 2010
Anti-Israel IAEA resolution tossed
General view of the UNO City building with the International Atomic Energy Agency office inside.
The International Atomic Energy Agency has once again voted against a resolution that called on Israel to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
The United States swayed the 151-member states of the UN nuclear agency to reject the Arab-proposed resolution which called on Tel Aviv to open up its nuclear activities to inspection.
The meeting of the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna failed to pass the non-binding resolution called "Israeli Nuclear Capabilities" on Friday with 51 votes against, 46 votes in favor of the resolution and 23 states abstaining from vote.
The resolution was narrowly rejected by a margin of five votes. Due to Western support, Israel has managed to evade such resolutions on several occasions.
While the Arab members of the IAEA believe Israel -- reportedly the sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East -- threatens regional peace and stability, Washington claimed that passage of the resolution would threaten the ongoing Middle East talks and the chances of a planned 2012 conference on a nuclear-free Mideast.
Israel's IAEA envoy Ehud Azoulay had earlier warned against adopting the Arab-proposed resolution, saying, "Adopting this resolution will be a fatal blow to any hope for future cooperative efforts toward better regional security in the Middle East."
Israel which refused to become a signatory to the NPT has reportedly stockpiled 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal.
http://www.presstv.com/detail/143809.html 31 mar 2012, 23:19 , Respect -
Maria 24 sept 2010
'Vote on Israel reveals West dishonesty'
Iran's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) ambassador Ali Asghar Soltanieh
Iran's envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency says the rejection of a resolution calling on Israel to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty exposed Western "dishonesty."
On Friday, a group of 51 mostly Western countries rejected the draft resolution urging Tel Aviv, the widely believed sole possessor of a nuclear arsenal in the Middle East, to sign the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and allow UN inspections of its covert nuclear facilities.
This is while 46 countries voted in support of the text, including veto-wielding permanent UN Security Council members Russia and China. Another 23 states abstained from vote.
"While they (Western powers) talk about the universality of the NPT, now they oppose it. This double standard proves once again in this international organization that the Americans and a couple of other Western countries are not honest in their words [sic.]," Ali Asghar Soltanieh told Press TV in a live interview from Vienna.
Contrary to media speculation that the proposal had failed, the Iranian ambassador described it as a "success."
"You should not assess this proposal as a failure... This was a success for all peace-loving people of the world, [considering] the tremendous pressure and lobbying by the US and other allies of the Israeli regime 6to prevent this resolution from such a resolution even being tabled in the IAEA," Soltanieh said.
Iranian officials say that since 1975, efforts for a Middle East free of nuclear weapons have inevitably hit a hurdle over Israel's policy of "nuclear ambiguity."
http://www.presstv.com/detail/143806.html...Read more 31 mar 2012, 23:19 , Respect -
Maria 24 sept 2010
IAEA rejects Arab move targeting Israel
In diplomatic victory for US, 51 delegations of UN nuclear watchdog member states vote against resolution calling on Jewish state to join global anti-atomic weapons treaty; 46 vote in favor, 23 abstain. Washington: Resolution could hurt peace process.
Member states of the United Nation nuclear watchdog narrowly rejected an Arab-sponsored resolution on Friday calling on Israel to join a global anti-atomic weapons treaty in a diplomatic victory for the United States.
Washington had urged countries to vote down the symbolically important although non-binding resolution, saying it could derail broader efforts to ban nuclear warheads in the Middle East and also send a negative signal to the relaunched Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
Forty-six delegations voted in favor of the resolution, 51 against and 23 others abstained in the general assembly of the 151-member International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
It had approved a similar resolution expressing concern at "Israel's Nuclear Capabilities" in a close vote at last year's General Conference, as the annual IAEA gathering is known.
Israel warned the Vienna gathering earlier on Friday that the Arab-led effort to single out the Jewish state could deal a "fatal blow" to any cooperation on improving security in the tinderbox Middle East.
"Adopting this resolution will be a fatal blow to any hope for future cooperative efforts towards better regional security in the Middle East," Israel's IAEA envoy Ehud Azoulay said, shortly before the vote.
Arab representatives said that Israel's presumed nuclear arsenal threatens regional peace and stability. The Jewish state is the region's only country outside the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Israel says it will not consider joining the NPT until there is comprehensive Middle East peace.
If it signed the NPT, it would have to renounce nuclear weaponry. Arab states say there cannot be genuine peace in the Middle East until Israel gives up nuclear weapons.
Israel has never confirmed nor denied having atomic bombs, under a policy of ambiguity to deter its Arab and Islamic foes.
Israel and the United States regard Iran as the Middle East's main proliferation threat, accusing it of seeking to develop atomic weapons in secret. Tehran rejects the charge.
http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3959400,00.html 31 mar 2012, 23:19 , Respect -
Maria 24 sept 2010
UN session seeks to kick-start stalled nuke talks
UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged world governments on Friday to end the "long inertia" at the Geneva disarmament talks and free up much of the money spent on arms for use alleviating hunger, disease and other ills in impoverished nations.
A new coalition of nuclear-activist nations, meanwhile, said that moving quickly in Geneva on a treaty to shut down all production of uranium and plutonium for atomic bombs is an "essential step" toward global nuclear disarmament.
Negotiations for the long-proposed Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty, currently blocked by Pakistan at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, should instead "be pursued with vigor and determination," said the 10-nation group, led by Japan and Australia and including Germany, Canada and Mexico.
http://www.jpost.com/Headlines/Article.aspx?id=189128