Bahrain backs Iran’s right to nuclear technology

Bahrain’s Parliament Speaker Khalifa Ahmad al-Zahrani says Iran has every right to possess peaceful nuclear technology.

“All Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) signatories have the right to develop peaceful nuclear technology,” said al-Zahrani in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani in Tehran.

He further underlined the peaceful nature of Iran’s atomic energy program.

The Bahraini speaker noted that Iran-Bahrain relation is cordial and “nobody could harm it.”

The United States and its western allies accuse the Islamic Republic of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear pursuit, a claim rejected by Iran.

After imposing three rounds of unilateral sanctions against Iran, the US rallied its European allies, Britain, France and Germany, to coerce the UN Security Council into pressuring Iran to desert its peaceful nuclear program.

Iran, a signatory of the NPT and member of the UN nuclear watchdog, is entitled to pursue the technology for civilian purposes. It has also urged nuclear powers to abandon their atomic arsenals as the government in Iran believes the use of weapons of mass destruction is inhuman.

Larijani, for his part, emphasized that his country’s nuclear energy program is in no way a threat to its neighbors.

He noted that Iran’s military capabilities are “merely defensive” and pose no threat to other states.

The Bahraini speaker also met with Iran’s President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and the two sides discussed a host of regional and international issues.