Islam Times - Araghchi Reacts to UN Chief Remarks on Iran Nuclear Program

Islam Times - Iranian Foreign Minister, Seyed Abbas Araghchi reacted to the statements made by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres against Iran at the Davos meeting on Wednesday.

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, Araghchi wrote on his X account on Thursday.

- Iran signed, in 1968, the NPT as a founding member.

- Iran's Leader has issued a religious edict outlawing all WMDs.

- Iran signed, in 2015, the JCPOA which imposed the most intrusive inspection regime in IAEA history and explicitly stated:

"Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons." (JCPOA, Para. iii of PREAMBLE AND GENERAL PROVISIONS) This is a permanent and clear commitment which Iran has remained committed to—even after the US unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018.

Reality check: the 'most relevant question' in our region is Israel's genocide in Gaza and occupation of Palestinian, Syrian & Lebanese territory. It is Israel's actual nuclear arsenal and refusal to join the NPT which is a threat to the world. This must not be normalized or whitewashed.

Earlier on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres made comments on peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program.

Guterres made the remarks at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Reuters news agency reported.

"Here my hope is that the Iranians understand that it is important to once and for all make it clear that they want to make nuclear weapon for peaceful purposes,” he noted.

Guterres' remark comes at a time when Iranian officials have always emphasized the peaceful nature of the country's nuclear program.

In a relevant development, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi said on Wednesday on the sidelines of the Davos meeting in Switzerland, in an interview with the Indian network NDTV about Iran's nuclear activities, that currently there is no evidence that Tehran is building nuclear weapons.