Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad accused the United States Monday of committing “acts of terror” and blamed the host nation at a U.N. nonproliferation conference for a worldwide spread of nuclear weapons, prompting representatives from the U.S., Britain and France to walk out.
Using the United Nations’ stage as a platform to lecture nuclear-armed nations, Ahmadinejad defended his country’s nuclear ambitions and argued that countries which possess nuclear weapons for reasons of stability are making a “gross mistake.”
“The sole purpose of nuclear weapons is to annihilate all human beings,” Ahmadinejad said. “Its possession is disgusting and shameful.”
He outlined a host of demands, calling for nuclear weapons at U.S. military bases to be dismantled, calling for the U.N. Security Council to be overhauled and strongly suggesting that the United States be kicked off the board for the International Atomic Energy Agency.
The Iranian president was lashing out at the United States as the Obama administration seeks tough international sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program. Ahmadinejad, the only head of state participating at Monday’s kickoff for a monthlong review of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, professed an interest only in pursuing peaceful nuclear energy development, which he said could be put to use in the medical, industrial and agricultural sectors. He said there is no evidence to show his country is seeking to develop a weapon.
But Iran is widely believed to be pursuing a nuclear bomb. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who plans to speak at the United Nations later in the day, called his speech a bid to “divert” and “confuse.”
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