US trying to deprive Iran of right to peaceful use of atom - envoy

The U.S. and Israel are attempting, through barbaric methods, to deprive Iran of its inalienable right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, Iranian Ambassador to Thailand Nassereddin Heidari said.

"The bitterness of this story is that, two nuclear powers - one of which has a history of using the atomic bomb for mass slaughter, and the other, despite possessing nuclear arsenals, is not a party to any disarmament treaty including the NPT - are attempting illegal and barbaric methods to deprive a nation of its inalienable right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy," the diplomat said.

What is certain is that Iran has never sought to develop weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, he stressed.

"There is no evidence in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) documents indicating any diversion in Iran's nuclear activities. More than 15 reports by the Agency to the Board of Governors regarding the non-diversion of Iran's peaceful nuclear program confirm this fact," Heidari said.

Based on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty, to which Iran is a party, all countries have the inalienable right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, including nuclear enrichment for peaceful purposes, he noted. To deprive a nation of these rights is against the NPT, the documents of the NPT Review Conferences, and the sovereign rights of a nation, Heidari emphasized.