Egypt

Cairo Lashes Out at West for Double Standards on Iran’s N. Issue

Cairo Lashes Out at West for Double Standards on N. Issue
Speaker of the Egyptian People’s Assembly Mohammed al-Katatni rapped western countries for their double standards in dealing with nuclear activities in various countries.

Al-Katatni made the remarks in a meeting with his Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on the sidelines of the 8th General Assembly Meeting of the Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union (IIPU) on Monday.

Al-Katatni underscored the Egyptian nation’s opposition to any interference by global powers in Iran’s internal affairs and slammed the West’s double standards with regard to the Islamic Republic and Israel.

The top Egyptian legislator pointed to the North African nation’s resolve to consolidate ties with Iran and hailed the two countries’ common principles as a good ground for further enhancement of bilateral relations.

Early in December, Tehran’s nuclear envoy to the UN called Israel’s atomic arsenal as the main threat to peace and tranquility in the Middle-East.

“The Middle-East is faced serious instability and insecurity as a result of Israel’s nuclear weapons and repeated violation of the international law and the resolutions of the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) by this regime,” Iran’s Ambassador to IAEA Ali Asqar Soltaniyeh said in a meeting of the IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors at the time.

In fact, he added, the Zionist way of thinking, which is based on occupation, is a threat to peace and security in the Middle-East and across the globe.

In the mid-September, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi cautioned the world bodies that the Zionist regime of Israel, as a nuclear-armed regime which refrains from respecting the international rules and regulations, is posing a major threat to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Israel, the Middle East’s sole nuclear power, possesses hundreds of nuclear warheads while it is not a signatory to the NPT or any other international convention.

The Zionist regime has never allowed UN inspectors to visit its nuclear sites or arsenals.

Iran’s Ambassador to the United Nations Mohammad Khazayee had also earlier this year blasted Israel for refusing to join the NPT, and urged the international community to pressure the regime into joining the treaty.

“Iran considers Israel as the prime suspect in the field of possessing nuclear weapons and not abiding by the NPT. The international community should exert pressure on the Zionist regime to join the NPT,” Khazayee said.

Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions for turning down West’s calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment.

Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa on April 17, 2010 declaring that the production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons are all haram (religiously prohibited).

“Iran is not after a nuclear bomb. Why would Iran want a nuclear bomb? Moreover, when an atomic bomb is detonated, it does not just kill enemies. Rather, it kills innocent people as well, and this goes against Islamic beliefs and the principles of the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Back to top button