G8 in no position to lecture Iran

Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani has slammed the Group of Eight (G8) nations as unfit to pass judgment on Iran’s nuclear program.

Speaking at a ceremony in the western Luristan Province, Larijani said the G8 faces certain failure in efforts to shut down Tehran’s nuclear program, criticizing the group’s policy of seeking to pressure Iran through sanctions that target the country’s economy.

“The (G8’s) latest statement says the new UN (Security Council) sanctions resolution must be fully implemented. This coming from countries who follow a policy of creating an economic crisis and have even called for the suspension of 20 percent enrichment activities,” the Majlis speaker was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.

Larijani went on to blast the group’s reference to the issue of human rights in Iran and highlighted the civilian death toll of the US-led war in Afghanistan as well as the notorious US prisons in Iraq and Cuba.

“They have no shame they are a murderous people who did not even show mercy to a wedding ceremony in Afghanistan. You must be put on trial for the scandals you created in Abu Gharib and Guantanamo,” he added.

“You will take this wish of yours to see the shutting down of Iran’s nuclear activities to the grave.”

In a statement released on Saturday, G8 leaders called for the full implementation of the UN Security Council sanctions Resolution 1929.

The US-drafted sanction resolution imposes a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran over allegations that Iran is harboring a military nuclear program.

Iran rejects the Western charges, arguing its right to peaceful nuclear energy as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The group of Western industrialized nations includes four of the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UNSC — France, Britain, Russia and the US.