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Iran says UN Sanctions Show Double Standard
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran's top security body on Friday railed against the latest U.N. sanctions imposed over Tehran's controversial nuclear program, saying they show world powers are applying a double standard.
Iran says its nuclear programme is purely for civilian purposes. (EPA) The
Supreme National Security Council said that U.S. and other
nuclear-armed powers have punished Iran with the sanctions even though
it doesn't have nuclear weapons, while at the same time they support
Israel, which is widely believed to have a sizable nuclear arsenal.
The Jewish state, which unlike Iran has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, maintains a policy of deliberate ambiguity about its nuclear program, neither confirming nor denying that it has nuclear weapons.
"The world has never seen any Security Council resolution about the Zionist regime's proliferation of nuclear weapons," the Iranian council said, referring to Israel. "The Security Council has never wanted to investigate who provided nuclear weapons to this regime."
The Iranian council said there was no justification for the sanctions against Iran and stressed the U.N. nuclear watchdog never found evidence of Tehran diverting its nuclear program into weapons-making.
"The resolution about the Islamic Republic of Iran's peaceful nuclear activities is based on trumped up charges that have never been proven," the council said.
The statement was the latest in a series of rebukes from Iran after the Security Council earlier this month approved new sanctions against Iran over its refusal to halt uranium enrichment, a technology that can be used to produce nuclear fuel or materials for a warhead.
The U.N. measure imposes new sanctions on 40 Iranian companies and organizations — 15 linked to Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard and 22 involved in nuclear or ballistic missile activities — and bans Iran from pursuing "any activity related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons."
It also bars Iranian investment in activities such as uranium mining, and prohibits Iran from buying several categories of heavy weapons, including attack helicopters and missiles.
The sanctions came after last year's push to get Iran to accept a U.N.-drafted plan to swap its low-enriched uranium for higher-enriched uranium in the form of fuel rods, which Tehran needs for a medical research reactor. At the time, the swap would have significantly reduced Iran's low-enriched uranium stockpile and delayed any weapons-making capabilities.
Instead, Iran opted for an alternative plan backed by Turkey and Brazil that included the uranium-for-rods exchange but didn't mandate a halt on Iran's enrichment process and fell short of U.N. demands.
The United States and its allies are concerned Iran's continued uranium enrichment could produce a nuclear weapon. Iran denies this, saying it only seeks nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and insists on its rights under the nonproliferation treaty to enrich uranium and produce nuclear fuel.
The European Union adopted its own new sanctions against Iran on Thursday, a day after the Obama administration imposed U.S. penalties against additional individuals and institutions it says are helping Iran develop its nuclear and missile programs and evade international sanctions.
Iran currently enriches uranium up to 20 percent — far short of the 95 percent level needed for an atomic weapon — and justifies its decision to go to higher enrichment levels by saying it needs to make fuel for a research reactor producing medical isotopes.
14 Comments so far
Show AllI believe Obomber is obviously in violation with his increased funding for Development of NEW nuclear weapons triggers.
These sanctions are similiar to the sanctions imposed pre Iraq invasion.
Designed to weaken the opposition before a war of aggression.
My question is how does the USA elicite so much international support on this issue?
The far right Zionist government in Israel is the greatest threat to world peace and stability. Israel threatens to destroy the world with nuclear weapons and continually violates international law and human rights in Palestine. If Israel is not stopped soon a nuclear weapon will be utilized against one of their neighbors in the middle east leading to the absolute destruction of all life on this planet. The US has no control of the extremist government in Israel We all need to continually write or pressure all peoples of the planet to pressure and stop the Zionists now before it is too late. The nuclear destruction of the planet will come sooner by the Zionists than climate change or the destruction of the environment by humans. Stop Israel now from destroying life on this planet forever! Israel will detonate a nuclear weapon in the nest deacade if left unchecked.
Balance please, the USA is no better than israel. And most are better than both.
Morally, the U.S. is no better, but our drive for lebensraum is over while Israel is still desperate for land. I wonder if Zionist territorial expansionism combined with advanced nuclear weaponry doesn't constitute a unique threat to the rest of the world.
But 5 million dead South Asians. 1 Million dead Iraqis. 100,000's Latin Americans.
Indonesians etc.?
I guess I’d argue that ethnic cleansing is a qualitatively different kind of aggression because it threatens the survival of entire cultures/societies. Certainly U.S. oligarchs murder more innocents per capita than oligarchs in other societies, but it’s mostly for profit, although often there’s a strong racist component to U.S. imperialism.
The US and Israel are complete and utter hypocrites! These two countries are by far the most dangerous, terrorist states in the world today! They routinely murder and torture innocent civilians and plunder the resources of the planet for their megolomaniacal greed! The whole world needs to DIVEST, SANCTION AND BOYCOTT these countries until they become civilized and demonstrate a little ethical and moral value!
It is somewhat stunning that this story was written by the AP as this then means that this article should receive much distribution in the mainstream media. What would be truly shocking is to see and hear a member of the White House Press Corps, now that the Zionists have pressured Helen Thomas to resign because of her truthful statements, ask Obama why he comes down hard on Iran while making absolutely no mention of Israel's 200 to 300 nuclear weapons.
Hypocrisy, thy name is Barack Obama.
-"It also bars Iranian investment in activities such as uranium mining, and prohibits Iran from buying several categories of heavy weapons, including attack helicopters and missiles."
The Russians are also backing out on their deal to provide Iran with anti-aircraft missiles. Apparently these weapons might be used to attack "innocent" Israeli bombers over Iran, in the same way Turkish aid workers used sticks and stones to attack "innocent" Israeli commandos on the Gaza aid ship.
“Instead, Iran opted for an alternative plan backed by Turkey and Brazil that included the uranium-for-rods exchange but didn't mandate a halt on Iran's enrichment process and fell short of U.N. demands.”
They were U.S., not U.N., demands, and the Turkey/Brazil alternative plan didn’t fall short. The U.S. led the fight against the Turkey/Brazil plan because the U.S. endgame is to soften up Iran for invasion and/or the installation of a compliant proxy regime that will serve narrow U.S. and Zionist imperial interests. Sanctions form part of the U.S./Zionist strategy for the region, and the only way Iran could avoid them is to allow U.S. control of Iranian oil while announcing Iranian support for Zionist ethnic cleansing of Palestinians.
Of course the U.S. and Israel are applying double standards. That’s what empires do. But the blowback may prove lethal over the long-term.
Of course there is a double standard! What reality show are YOU watching.
the zionist state was willing to sell white racist south africa nuclear tipped missiles on march 30, 1975. the documents prove it.
ben gurion pledged to kennedy he would allow inspections at dimona, israel's nuclear plant. he lied. the pliant johnson allowed israel to go nuclear.
golda meir threatened to unleash her jericho missiles against both russia and the arab world if the u.s.a. didn't resupply the battered israeli army during the october 1973 yom kippur war.
israel slould be boycotted for its having nuclear weapons, as they have proven themselves far too irresponsible to possess them. then, we will have the moral standing to ask iran to abandon their efforts, if any, to obtain them.