WarSclerotic

Clinton: Iran diverting attention from its NPT violations – Haaretz – Israel News.

Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said Sunday that it was clear Iran is in violation of a treaty designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

The United Nations is holding a conference this coming week on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and Iran’s president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, is expected to address delegates ahead of Clinton on Monday.

Clinton told NBC’s “Meet the Press” that Ahmadinejad’s trip was an effort to divert attention and confuse people about Iran’s violation of the treaty.

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“If Iran is coming to say we’re willing to abide by the Nonproliferation Treaty, that would be very welcome news. I have a feeling that’s not what they’re coming to do. I think they?re coming to try to divert attention and confuse the issue. And there is no confusion,” said Clinton.

“They have violated the terms of the NPT. They have been held under all kinds of restrictions and obligations that they have not complied with by the IAEA, the International Atomic Energy Agency, by the UN Security Council,” she added.

“So we’re not going to permit Iran to try to change the story from their failure to comply and in any way upset the efforts we are in the midst of, which is to get the international community to adopt a strong Security Council resolution that further isolates them and imposes consequences for their behavior.”

The upcoming UN conference is designed to make clear the global commitment to disarmament, peaceful nuclear energy and limiting the spread of nuclear weapons, she added.

“The purpose of the Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference is to reiterate the commitment of the international community to the three goals: disarmament, nonproliferation, the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. So the vast majority of countries are coming to see what progress we can make. And this is a very high priority for President [Barack] Obama,” she said.

Danish FM: World must unite against Iran

Meanwhile, visiting Danish Foreign Minister Lene Espersen said earlier Sunday in a meeting with President Shimon Peres that the international community must present a clear and united front against Iran’s nuclear ambitions.

Espersen said Denmark has been working within the context of the European Union and the United Nations Security Council to impose harsh economic sanction against the Iranian regime. “It is within everyone’s interest to isolate Iran,” said the Danish foreign minister.

Peres thanked Espersen for her “sharp and clear voice” on the Iranian threat and the need to impose harsh economic sanctions.Peres also addressed Israel’s claim that Scud missiles were smuggled from Syria to Hezbollah militants in Lebanon, saying: “Syria must stop acting one way and speaking another way. Their support for terror can no longer be hidden.”

He added that Israel is keeping close watch of such development, including arms smuggling between North Korea, Iran, Syria and Lebanon.

“North Korea has become a duty free for long-range missiles and nuclear weapons,” said Peres.

“These weapons flow straight to Iran who arms and strengthens the world’s global terror network including Hezbollah in Lebanon and other groups in Syria.”

This entry was posted on May 2, 2010 at 9:14 PM and is filed under Iran / Israel War. You can subscribe via RSS 2.0 feed to this post's comments. You can comment below, or link to this permanent URL from your own site.