Iran's Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the UN Office and International Organizations in Geneva, Ali Bahraini has emphasized that members and signatories to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) have an inalienable right to use atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

According to The Iran Project, Ali Bahraini made the remarks on Monday during a speech at the second preparatory committee meeting of the NPT Review Conference in Geneva.

He stated that the right to produce nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and full exchange of nuclear equipment, materials and know-how for its peaceful uses is one of the fundamental goals of the NPT.

Elaborating on Article 4 of the treaty he said that “all member countries with advanced nuclear technology must fulfill their obligations under this article”.

Bahraini also criticized some countries for abusing the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its monitoring system. “None of the provisions of the treaty should be interpreted in a way that deprives the (other) member countries of their inalienable rights and prevents them from benefiting. They should be fully entitled to their rights as per the treaty”.

The Iranian diplomat expressed concerns that some member countries are trying to impose arbitrary restrictions against other NPT members to pursue their political goals.

The NPT members have agreed in the framework of the review conferences that priority should be given to the non-signatories in all the activities aimed at developing peaceful nuclear energy, Bahraini said, adding that “in practice, however, we are witnessing that countries outside of NPT have started producing nuclear weapons”.

In this connection, the Iranian ambassador in Geneva-based international organizations warns that the Islamic Republic considers any attack or threat of attack against peaceful nuclear facilities as a violation of international obligations and condemned the Zionist regime for issuing such threats.

Israel is the sole entity in West Asia that has not signed NPT despite repeated calls and is believed to possess some 400 nuclear warheads in its arsenal, which several member states, including Iran, has time and again called a serious threat to peace and security in the region and beyond.