Iran, US take nuke cases to UN stage
Tuesday, 4 May 2010
UNITED NATIONS, May 3 (AP): Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad brings his nuclear case to New York Monday, turning a UN treaty conference into a stage for Tehran's long-running showdown with the Western powers over its uranium enrichment program.
The only head of state participating, Ahmadinejad was one of Monday's scheduled kickoff speakers for the month-long session, to review the workings of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
Departing Tehran Sunday, the Iranian leader made clear he would assail US-led efforts to impose a new round of UN sanctions on his country for refusing to stop its enrichment program, which Washington and others contend is meant to produce the nuclear fuel for bombs in violation of Iran's NPT obligations.
"Under the pretext of prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation, they impose heavy pressures on independent countries," Ahmadinejad complained to reporters.
He is also expected to counter with a denunciation of the United States and other nuclear-armed nations for their slow movement toward disarmament. "The atomic bomb has become a tool for bullying, domination and expansionism," he said Sunday.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, following Ahmadinejad to the UN stage later Monday, suggested over the weekend he was coming to New York "to divert attention and confuse the issue."
The US delegation will find an ally in UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said last week that "the onus is on you" - Ahmadinejad - to prove the nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, as Iran claims.
While delegates assess the state of the NPT in UN conference halls, American and European diplomats will be working elsewhere to reach agreement with the sometimes reluctant China and Russia on a fourth round of UN Security Council economic penalties to impose on Iran.
Meanwhile, high-level representatives from the US and Iran are set to address a nuclear non-proliferation conference amid a deepening row over Tehran's uranium enrichment programme.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the only head of state taking part in the UN nuclear NPT review conference, which will host delegations from 189 countries.
The only head of state participating, Ahmadinejad was one of Monday's scheduled kickoff speakers for the month-long session, to review the workings of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT).
Departing Tehran Sunday, the Iranian leader made clear he would assail US-led efforts to impose a new round of UN sanctions on his country for refusing to stop its enrichment program, which Washington and others contend is meant to produce the nuclear fuel for bombs in violation of Iran's NPT obligations.
"Under the pretext of prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation, they impose heavy pressures on independent countries," Ahmadinejad complained to reporters.
He is also expected to counter with a denunciation of the United States and other nuclear-armed nations for their slow movement toward disarmament. "The atomic bomb has become a tool for bullying, domination and expansionism," he said Sunday.
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, following Ahmadinejad to the UN stage later Monday, suggested over the weekend he was coming to New York "to divert attention and confuse the issue."
The US delegation will find an ally in UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who said last week that "the onus is on you" - Ahmadinejad - to prove the nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, as Iran claims.
While delegates assess the state of the NPT in UN conference halls, American and European diplomats will be working elsewhere to reach agreement with the sometimes reluctant China and Russia on a fourth round of UN Security Council economic penalties to impose on Iran.
Meanwhile, high-level representatives from the US and Iran are set to address a nuclear non-proliferation conference amid a deepening row over Tehran's uranium enrichment programme.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is the only head of state taking part in the UN nuclear NPT review conference, which will host delegations from 189 countries.