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UNITED NATIONS: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
told the UN General Assembly Tuesday that his nuclear standoff with
the West was a “closed” matter, but his French counterpart said
a nuclear-armed Iran was “unacceptable.”
Ahmadinejad told world leaders
gathered here for the assembly’s 62nd session that the controversy
over Iran’s nuclear ambitions “is closed as a political issue”
and should be handled “within the legal framework” and under the
supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Iran rejects Western charges that
it is trying to build atomic weapons under the guise of its civilian
nuclear program and insists it is entitled to pursue uranium
enrichment as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The UN Security Council has
adopted three resolutions against Iran. Two include sanctions
because of Iran’s refusal to halt uranium enrichment.
Ahmadinejad listened impassively
as French President Nicolas Sarkozy said it would be unacceptable
for the Islamic republic to acquire nuclear weapons.
“Iran has the right to nuclear
energy,” Sarkozy said. “But allowing Iran to have nuclear
weapons would mean an unacceptable risk for regional and world
stability.”
The French leader made it clear
that there would be no world peace if the world community “shows
weakness in the face of the proliferation of nuclear weapons.”
He received loud applause at the
end of his speech.
The United States is pushing for
further UN sanctions on Tehran and is to hold further talks with the
four other members of the Security Council—France, Britain, Russia
and China—along with Germany on the issue this week.
In his address, Bush challenged
the assembly to boost efforts to foster freedom and democracy in
countries with repressive regimes. He put Iran on a list of
“brutal regimes,” including Syria, North Korea and Belarus, that
“deny their people . . . fundamental rights.”
Bush also charged that: “to be
credible on human rights in the world, the United Nations must
reform its own Human Rights Council.
In his address, Ahmadinejad
reiterated that Tehran would “disregard unlawful and political
impositions by the arrogant powers,” a reference to the Security
Council demand that it halt uranium enrichment.
--AFP
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