** FILE ** Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (center) visits the Natanz uranium ... more >Just hours after North Korea conducted its third nuclear test, Iran officials have called on world powers to abolish all nuclear weapons.
“We need to come to the point where no country has any nuclear weapons and at the same time all weapons of mass destruction and nuclear arms need to be destroyed,” said Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Ramin Mehmanparast, in a Times of Israel report. He added: Countries should still have the right to develop nuclear programs for peaceable uses, the report continues.
Iran has defended its nuclear program for years as a peaceable pursuit of energy and tossed off international accusations that it seeks nuclear weapons. In its latest defense, Mr. Mehmanparsat said in the Times of Israel report that Iran is only converting highly-enriched uranium to nuclear fuel — not to develop nuclear weaponry.
“This work is being done and all its reports have been sent to the International Atomic Energy Agency in a complete manner,” he said, in the Times of Israel report.
Israel is one country that disagrees.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country was actively seeking a nuclear bomb and is nearing the “red line” — the point where Tehran’s nuclear weapons program cannot be stopped, he said, in the Times of Israel report.
© Copyright 2013 The Washington Times, LLC. Click here for reprint permission.
Cheryl Chumley is a continuous news writer for The Washington Times. Previously, she was part of the start-up team for The Washington Times’ digital aggregation product, Times247. She’s also a 2008-2009 Robert Novak journalism fellow with The Phillips Foundation. She can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com.
'Your papers, please' must never be heard in America
Independent voices from the TWT Communities
Although contemporary American politics is an unforgiving environment, it’s still wide open to implement a legitimate worldview based on timeless Biblical values.
We all eat, and food should be fun and healthful. Food Commune celebrates the food we eat, the people we eat with and the spirits we enjoy.
First over-the-counter column approved for fast and effective relief from even your worst media-induced headache.
Benghazi: The anatomy of a scandal
13 Photos
Vietnam Memorial adds four names
18 Photos
Cinco de Mayo on the Mall
11 Photos
