Iran FM slams UN chief’s call to ‘renounce nuclear weapons’, says Tehran’s anti-WMD stance clear

Iran has denounced "audacious" remarks by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Iran's peaceful nuclear activities, reaffirming the country's longstanding commitment to the global nonproliferation regime.

News ID: 5846

Date: 23 January 2025 - 17:18

TABNAK, Jan 23: In an X post on Thursday, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi blasted Guterres for preaching the Islamic Republic, which is pursuing a civilian nuclear program as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the US-abandoned 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

He also highlighted a fatwa (religious decree) by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei that bans the production, possession and stockpiling of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).

"It is audacious to preach that Iranians must "once and for all make it clear that they will renounce to have nuclear weapons."

"Iran's longstanding commitment to the global nonproliferation regime is clear."

Speaking about the situation in West Asia at the World Economic Forum in Davos on Wednesday, the UN chief said Iran must make it clear that it does not aim to build nuclear arms.

“The most relevant question is Iran and relations between Iran, Israel and the United States,” he claimed.

“Here my hope is that the Iranians understand that it is important to once and for all make it clear that they will renounce to have nuclear weapons, at the same time that they engage constructively with the other countries of the region.”

The top Iranian diplomat also noted that the most relevant question in the region is Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip, as well as the regime's occupation of Palestinian, Syrian & Lebanese territory.

He further warned of the threat posed by Israel's actual nuclear arsenal and refusal to join the NPT.

Israel is estimated to possess 200 to 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, making it the sole possessor of non-conventional arms in West Asia.

It has refused to either allow inspections of its nuclear facilities or sign the NPT.