UNSC’s anti-Iran statement politically motivated

An Iranian lawmaker has slammed the recent statement by the UN Security Council (UNSC) against Iran’s nuclear energy program as a political tactic aimed at creating hype.

“All the nuclear activities of the Islamic Republic are peaceful, supervised by the [International Atomic Energy] Agency (IAEA) and in accordance with the provisions of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT); and the [UNSC] stance is nothing but a political and controversial approach,” said Ahmad Reza Dastgheib, vice-chairman of Iran’s Majlis Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, on Sunday.

In a joint statement published on April 19, Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States described North Korea’s nuclear test in February and Iran’s “continued pursuit of certain nuclear activities” as among the biggest threats to the NPT.

Tehran has officially criticized the UNSC’s statement and reiterated the country’s stance as a committed member of the NPT.

“The five permanent members of the UNSC and other groups active in this respect had better pay attention to the fact that the Zionist regime (Israel) has not accepted the international treaties and its nuclear activities are hidden from the eyes of the international observers,” Dastgheib pointed out.

The Iranian lawmaker said the Western powers “devote all their efforts to tarnish the image of the Islamic Republic.” He further called on Iran’s diplomatic apparatus to respond more actively to the allegations against the country and enlighten the world’s public opinion about the existing realities of Iran.

The US, Israel and some of their allies falsely claim that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program, with the US and the European Union using the claim as pretext to impose illegal sanctions against Iran.

Tehran rejects the allegation over its nuclear energy activities, maintaining that as a committed signatory to the NPT and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.