Distinguished Delegates, Dear Guests:

Four months ago, I witnessed the scene of one of the most appalling crimes against humanity in Hiroshima. I wrote down in the book commemorating the victims of Hiroshima, “The most important message of Hiroshima is the disarmament of the US,” and I underlined the importance of holding this conference and the necessity of having a gathering to share ideas and thoughts.

I welcome you to the Islamic Republic of Iran and hope that our sharing of thoughts in this meeting, that seeks the noble goal of disarmament, will be a right response to the expectations of the international community.

Why do we need a meeting like this?

After 65 years that have passed since the disaster in Hiroshima, the perpetrators have not repented or asked for forgiveness from the people of Japan. On the contrary, after 65 years, they shamelessly threaten other nations with nuclear weapons.

The culprits behind Hiroshima and Nagasaki tragedies were not tried or punished. After they committed such crimes, they used their possession of nuclear weapons as a basis to exact privileges in the international system.

After World War II, international relations have not been based on justice, democracy, and sovereignty of nations. These relations have evolved on the basis of the power to possess nuclear weapons. The possessors of nuclear weapons have been able to acquire a special privilege solely on this basis. Can this foundation bring about and promote security in our world?

Apart from the fact that no free-minded person in the world can accept this foundation, the experience over the past 65 years have also shown that the possessors of nuclear weapons not only have failed to bring about security, but they themselves have been the principal source of all conflicts over these years.

Gentlemen and Ladies

A safe and secure world cannot evolve on the basis of nuclear arms; we strongly believe that enduring and lasting security happens on the solid ground of faith and justice. For this reason, we need to change relations among nations from the present unsound and faulty foundation. Nuclear disarmament is the most important step to bring about this change and moving toward a safe and secure world. Needless to say, this important task will not be achieved simply by asking or pleading to nuclear powers. The global community of nations should dictate their demands and oblige these powers to yield by consolidating their ranks and making use of their international resources and capacity.
The experience over the past 65 years has shown that leaving the task of disarmament to nuclear powers is an illusion and a mirage.

Ladies and Gentlemen

The perils coming from possessors of nuclear weapons are not merely limited to the use of these weapons. You have all seen crimes and catastrophic conflicts over the past decade carried out solely on the supporting foundation of nuclear weapons, without actually using them. Can the United Sates attack and occupy another country arbitrarily and without any legal basis, even by the authorization from the present Security Council, without such a supporting foundation?

My point is that if dropping atomic bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki took the lives of tens of thousands, crimes by the United States over the past decade in Afghanistan and Iraq have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousand innocent people. These crimes were carried out under the supporting foundation of nuclear arms. Can this level of killing be ignored by the claimants advocating human rights, although no nuclear weapons were used, as an example of mass killing and genocide? Can the nature of the behavior of the government that allows itself killing millions of people engender trust in the global community for the security of the world in the future?

Distinguished Audience

Being aware of the deceptive policies of certain powers and exposing them to the global community is the primary requirement for nuclear disarmament.
The first deceptive ploy these powers use is to place themselves as the principal claimant. The United Sates is the principal offender in using, producing, and proliferation of nuclear weapons and needs to be held accountable.

Can the use of nuclear weapons by the United Stated against the innocent people be denied?

Is it possible to deny production, proliferation, and stockpile of nuclear weapons by the United States?

Is it possible to deny that a country in the 21st Century and during the current month, in full view of the world, threatened to use nuclear weapon of mass destruction?

Can the existence of thousands of nuclear warheads in Europe and the US that threaten the safety of the population of the same regions be denied? Can putting your hand on the trigger, just like the Cowboys, by the government of the United States, as we heard in recent comments by the head of their government, build trust for a safe future?

Distinguished Audience

The most important step toward nuclear disarmament is to disallow principal nuclear offenders and culprits to take the place of claimants.

The second deceptive policy that prevents genuine disarmament is to divert and redirect world public opinion from real threats to fictitious and imaginary ones. Diverting public opinion from thousands of nuclear warheads in Europe and the United Sates, from continuation of production, multiplication and testing of newer generations of these weapons, from proliferation of nuclear arms to the Zionist regime by these same powers, from refusal to disarm according to Article 6 of NPT, from cooperation with those governments that have not yet singed NPT and diverting their attention from the fact that despite claimed agreements to reduce the quantity of nuclear weapons, efforts to upgrade the quality continues and diverting public opinion from the fact that thousands of tons of nuclear materials that are adequate to build tens of thousands of bombs continue to be available to those powers that regard possession of nuclear weapons as their right and privilege.

Ladies and Gentlemen

It is on the basis of this same deceptive policy that they used the full resources and power of their international media to present the peaceful activities of a member state of NPT in having a fuel cycle, even that under the eyes of IAEA, as a grave threat. Their real intention under all this comical propaganda, which is distressing at the same time, has been to cover up the real threats that emanate from their reckless behavior toward the entire humanity, and even their own citizens. Therefore, the most important prerequisite for the disarmament of nuclear powers is to disarm them of deception and dishonesty.

Gentlemen and Ladies

What we see today from the deceptive behavior of certain powers only strengthen the perception that these powers are not moving toward disarmament. Unfortunately, quite the opposite is taking place. Their policies are weakening mechanisms relating to disarmament and non-proliferation and are inflicting the heaviest blows on NPT. They are ignoring the provisions of NPT, commitments toward nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation and intervening in the functions of IAEA. Therefore, we would like to put forward the following proposals:

1. We propose that a clear timetable be drawn up for the elimination of all nuclear weapons and an international verification mechanism for the nuclear activities of nuclear-weapon states. This verification mechanism should be similar to the one used to verify the fulfillment of commitments by non-nuclear weapon states under article 3 of NPT.

2. We propose that a fact-finding committee to be established by the IAEA to investigate the sources of proliferation of nuclear weapons to the Zionist regime and report the results of its findings to the Security Council and the General Assembly during current year.

3. To our total astonishment we are hearing totally new pronouncements that claim those outside NPT can legitimately produce and develop nuclear weapons in full secrecy. Even more tragic is the fact these clandestine nuclear programs are practically supported by cooperation and opening the doors to technology, materials and equipment.

Do you not believe that such policies serve no purpose other than weakening NPT and discouraging membership?

Therefore, we propose that, in the framework of nonproliferation measures, nuclear-weapon states be prohibited from any kind of nuclear cooperation with non-members and commit themselves not to transfer any kind of nuclear material, equipment and technology.

4. On the threshold of holding this conference, the global community witnessed another effort to diverge public opinion from the real threats by presenting a conceptual plan under the rubric of “nuclear terrorism”.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Today, the entire world, particularly the people of our region, realizes and understands the dual use of terrorism by the United States and Britain. These two countries, according to admissions by the officials of the two countries, created, supplied and managed certain terrorist groups. The same terrorist groups that had been fabricated by them were later used as an alibi to occupy and kill hundreds of thousands of innocent people. They have occupied Afghanistan for ten years under the pretext of “war on terror”.

Today, the important question by the global community from the United States, Britain, and NATO is what has been the actual result of your war on terror after ten years of occupation and killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Afghanistan?

To just give you an example, the United States and Britain claimed that one of the primary sources of finance for terrorists in Afghanistan is poppy cultivation and trade in drugs. After ten years, according to the report by the United Nations, opium production has increased from 2,000 tons to 8,000 tons.

Moreover, none of the terrorist leaders have been arrested and, according to the latest report by the United States, the presence of these groups in Afghanistan have deepened and expanded.

Now, the question is whether the United States did not want to fight the so-called war on terror or was not able to.

No desire to fight the terrorists in Afghanistan clearly means that the US accompanies terrorists and is their partner. One of the terrorist thugs arrested by Iran openly admitted collaborating with the U.S. government. The esteemed president of Iran, in a letter to the Secretary- General of the United Nations, presented corroborative evidence and asked for further investigation by the United Nations.

But if we accept the second assumption that the U.S. wanted, but was not able to wage a war against the terrorist over the past ten years, then how can it claim now that is able to fight the so-called nuclear terrorism?

Under both assumptions, whether U.S. was not willing to or unable to fight terror, and even if accepting the new fanfare by the US regime to redirect attentions to nuclear terrorism, how could the world trust the US and its allies in facing this claimed threat?

Is it not enough to conclude, after the experience of the past ten years and killing of hundreds of thousands of innocent people, that peace, justice and well-being of mankind will not be achieved by ways and mechanisms concocted by America and its allies?

Can the behavior of the US, Britain, and NATO in the so-called war on terror give us and even the citizens of their own countries good reason to be doubtful and not to put our hope on them?

How has the terrorism claimed by them has evolved? What kind of threats does it entail? What kind of mechanisms do we need to think of in order to have a world free from terrorism?

As the victim of terrorism, the Islamic Republic of Iran extends an open invitation to all countries of the world to attend a conference on fighting terrorism that will be held in September in Tehran. This conference will provide corroborative evidence and proof on the roots of terrorism and its supporters.

Ladies and Gentlemen

Over the past 60 years, we have witnessed an approach that has tried to monopolize power and to prevent disarmament. Today, the same approach seeks to dominate and extend its monopoly to nuclear energy. Using deceptive terms, such as nuclear security, it seeks to put further limitations and restrictions on independent sovereign nations in their pursuit top have access to nuclear material and technology and ultimately to maintain its monopoly.

Creating obstructions and ignoring the inalienable rights of nations under article 4 of NPT in having the nuclear fuel cycle are among the tactics they use to weaken NPT. The defense by the Islamic Republic of Iran of its rights as an active member of NPT is, in fact, a case in defense of the rights of all members of NPT.

The scope and extent of cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran with IAEA is unprecedented. Iran has fully complied with the modality agreed with the Agency and has resolved all outstanding issues. The nuclear facilities of Iran have received more than 4500 man-day of inspection by IAEA. The Agency has stated more than 20 times in its reports that there has been no diversion in nuclear activities of Iran. We sincerely thank the international community, particularly 120 member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement for supporting many times the nuclear rights of Iran. We belie that all nations have the right to benefit from peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

The Islamic Republic of Iran wants a world replete with justice, peace and well-being for all. The package proposed by Iran is based on the same desire. The two slogans of this conference, Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons for None, is the principal component of our proposed package.

The Islamic Republic of Iran has again stated its readiness to have dialogue on common concerns of the international community on the basis of collective commitment. Those who openly state that they will use levers of pressure in their dialogues are, in fact, openly saying to the whole world that they are resorting to pressure and coercion due to absence of logic and culture of dialogue on their part. We invite them to the logic of respect for the rights of nations and return to dialogue and to be accountable to the global community.

Hoping for the day without nuclear weapons in the world and a world replete with peace, justice and happiness.

Saeed Jalili