Iran says postponement of Mideast nuclear talks gave lie to U.S. claims

TEHRAN,Nov.28(MNA)– Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast on Tuesday criticized the U.S. decision to put off talks on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction. The United States said on Friday that the conference on creating a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, which was scheduled to be held in mid-December, would not take place and did not make it clear when or whether it would be held. The United States, Britain, and Russia are co-sponsors of the meeting. Mehmanparast expressed regret over the decision, saying that it illustrates the United States’ false claims and double-standard policies in regard to the issue of nuclear disarmament and the promotion of world peace and international security. He mentioned the fact that the idea of the establishment of such a zone was first proposed by Iran, noting that the U.S. decision indicates efforts meant to prevent the illegitimate Zionist regime from becoming isolated. Elsewhere in his remarks, Mehmanparast said that the Zionist regime’s nuclear arsenal and its non-compliance with international regulations are the only obstacles in the way of the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons in the Middle East and emphasized that Israel should be pressured into destroying its nuclear weapons and joining the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. In addition, the Arab League Secretary General, Nabil Elaraby, said in a statement on Monday that the postponement “will have a negative impact on regional security and the international system to prevent nuclear proliferation as a whole.”