IAEA officials to attend Iran’s nuclear disarmament meet

Senior officials of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will participate in Tehran’s International Nuclear Disarmament Conference later this month, says Iran’s ambassador to the agency.

In an interview with Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) today, Ali Asghar Soltanieh said, “Senior managers and officials from the IAEA and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Conference, as well as heads of political groups at international organizations will participate in Iran’s disarmament conference dubbed ‘Nuclear Power for All, Nuclear Weapons for None.”

The conference, scheduled to be held on April 17-18 in Tehran, will explore obstacles facing nuclear disarmament as well as elimination of other weapons of mass destruction.

Despite US pressure on a number of prospective participants, diplomats, experts, officials and non-governmental organizations from 60 countries have snubbed US pleas against attending and will take part in the conference.

As a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), Iran has rejected atomic weapons and has for years called for a nuclear-free Middle East, demanding that nuclear weapon states eliminate their atomic arsenals in compliance with their NPT obligations.