Iranian delegation to head for NYC

The Iranian delegation is to head for New York City to participate in the 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

After reports surfaced that some officials in Washington were holding back on issuing visas for the Iranian delegation, Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters on Saturday that “Issuing visas for officials from different countries to participate in UN assemblies, is an obligation for US authorities not a prerogative; the US government does not have the right to … take the UN hostage.”

Regarding the reasons for the participation of the Iranian delegation in the 2010 NPT Review Conference, Mottaki said, “Our views are very clear and we demand that the articles of the treaty, which was approved 40 years ago but undermined by countries such as the US, be revised.”