Iran at forefront of worldwide campaign against WMDs: Iranian envoy

TEHRAN, Dec. 10 (MNA) – Tehran’s ambassador to the UN Office at Geneva said that Iran is proud that it is among the first 20 countries that signed the first international convention on campaign against weapons of mass destruction. The Islamic Republic of Iran itself is the victim of chemical weapons and has played an active role in every international disarmament campaign, Mohammad Reza Sajjadi told the 7th Review Conference of Biological and Toxin Weapons in Geneva. Taking this background into account, Iran has always expressed disapproval of designing, producing, and stockpiling weapons of mass destruction, Sajjadi stated. “We believe that the convention on microbial weapons should be universal and the conference should urge the Zionist regime to join the convention without wasting more time,” he said. Elsewhere in his remarks, the ambassador said, “For many years, the signatories to the convention have been deprived of their legitimate rights to exchange microbial materials for peaceful use, and the conference should also address the problem.” Iran has contributed to international campaigns against various kinds of chemical weapons for many years. The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) adopted on November 3 Iran’s proposal calling for the establishment of International Support Network for the Victims of Chemical Weapons. The proposal was adopted by a vote of 118 during the last day of the Sixteenth Session of the Conference of the States Parties to the CWC in The Hague, which started on November 28. The United States, Israel, and a number of Western countries voted against the proposal. The Islamic Republic of Iran was re-elected to the Executive Council of the OPCW for a two-year term on November 30.