Iran accused the United States, Britain and Israel of "baseless allegations" about its nuclear ambitions, insisting that it has always considered developing and using weapons of mass destruction "inhumane, immoral and illegal."
Iran's deputy UN ambassador Mehdi Danesh Yazdi told the Security Council on Friday that his country has an "inalienable right" to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes and would not "give in to the pressures emanating from groundless and unsubstantiated allegations and ulterior political motives."
Iran was a last-minute addition to the list of countries speaking at a day-long council meeting on implementation of a resolution adopted in 2004 requiring all 192 U.N. member states to pass laws to keep nuclear, chemical and biological weapons out of the hands of terrorists and black marketeers.
The meeting took place a day after the International Atomic Energy Agency reported that Iran had ignored a council ultimatum to freeze uranium enrichment - a possible pathway to nuclear arms - and had instead expanded its program. |