ID :
191748
Wed, 06/29/2011 - 11:09
Auther :
Shortlink :
https://oananews.org//node/191748
The shortlink copeid
FM Blasts West for Supporting Saddam's Chemical Attacks on Iran
TEHRAN (FNA)- Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi condemned the western states for their support for the former Iraqi regime's chemical attacks on Iranian cities during the 1980-1988 Iraqi imposed war on Iran.
Those governments that helped Saddam were hopeful that his regime would quell Iran's new born Islamic revolution and they equipped him by the most modern weapons as well as chemical arsenals and they closed their eyes to his crimes, so they made the darkest pages of human civilization history, Salehi said in his message to a ceremony held to mark the martyrdom anniversary of the Iranian citizens massacred by the former Iraqi Ba'ath regime's chemical attacks on Sardasht city.
He continued that different international humanitarian organizations, either governmental or non-governmental, only watched Saddam crimes and non of them, especially the UN Security Council, in spite of official reports of the UN inspectors concerning vast use of chemical weapons by Saddam regime, never issued a resolution against Saddam Hussein.
Salehi called Iran 'major victim of chemical weapons' and an active member of the OPCW and added that Iran, accompanying other member states of the Organization, will try for full elimination of all chemical arsenals in the world.
He condoled with families of the victims and emphasized that Islamic Republic of Iran will seriously follow legally to obtain victims' rights.
Sardasht is a city in Northwestern Iran. According to the 2006 census, its population was 37,000. It lies in the West Azarbaijan province. It was the first city in which civilians where attacked with chemical weapons by former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein during the imposed Iraqi war on Iran.
Although it happened even before Halabja, it didn't get much publicity at the time because Iran was being ignored by the international community.
On June 28, 1987, Iraqi aircraft dropped what Iranian authorities believed to be mustard gas bombs on Sardasht, in two separate bombing runs on four residential areas.
Sardasht was the first town in the world to be gassed. Out of a population of 20,000, 25% are still suffering severe illnesses from the attacks.
New documents recently disclosed by the US National Security Archive revealed that Washington had supported the use of chemical weapons against Iran by the former Iraqi regime.
The documents show that Washington attempted to block a resolution proposed by Iran to condemn the use of chemical weapons by Iraq.
In 1984, Iran submitted a draft resolution asking the UN to condemn Iraq's use of chemical weapons during the imposed war by Baghdad on Tehran.
According to the released document, the US ordered its delegate to the UN to "work to develop general Western position in support of a motion to take no decision" on Iran's draft.
If the attempts failed, the delegate was ordered to abstain from voting on the issue.
On March 29, 1984, the then Head of Iraq's Interests Section, Nizar Hamdoon, informed the then US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, James Placke, that "Iraq strongly preferred a Security Council presidential statement to a resolution… but to not identify any specific country as responsible for chemical weapons use," the document read.
A day later, the UN Security Council issued a presidential statement condemning the use of chemical weapons, without naming Iraq as the offending party.
This is while a number of chemical-warfare instances reported by Iran have been verified by an international team of specialists dispatched to the Islamic Republic by the UN.
Those governments that helped Saddam were hopeful that his regime would quell Iran's new born Islamic revolution and they equipped him by the most modern weapons as well as chemical arsenals and they closed their eyes to his crimes, so they made the darkest pages of human civilization history, Salehi said in his message to a ceremony held to mark the martyrdom anniversary of the Iranian citizens massacred by the former Iraqi Ba'ath regime's chemical attacks on Sardasht city.
He continued that different international humanitarian organizations, either governmental or non-governmental, only watched Saddam crimes and non of them, especially the UN Security Council, in spite of official reports of the UN inspectors concerning vast use of chemical weapons by Saddam regime, never issued a resolution against Saddam Hussein.
Salehi called Iran 'major victim of chemical weapons' and an active member of the OPCW and added that Iran, accompanying other member states of the Organization, will try for full elimination of all chemical arsenals in the world.
He condoled with families of the victims and emphasized that Islamic Republic of Iran will seriously follow legally to obtain victims' rights.
Sardasht is a city in Northwestern Iran. According to the 2006 census, its population was 37,000. It lies in the West Azarbaijan province. It was the first city in which civilians where attacked with chemical weapons by former Iraqi dictator, Saddam Hussein during the imposed Iraqi war on Iran.
Although it happened even before Halabja, it didn't get much publicity at the time because Iran was being ignored by the international community.
On June 28, 1987, Iraqi aircraft dropped what Iranian authorities believed to be mustard gas bombs on Sardasht, in two separate bombing runs on four residential areas.
Sardasht was the first town in the world to be gassed. Out of a population of 20,000, 25% are still suffering severe illnesses from the attacks.
New documents recently disclosed by the US National Security Archive revealed that Washington had supported the use of chemical weapons against Iran by the former Iraqi regime.
The documents show that Washington attempted to block a resolution proposed by Iran to condemn the use of chemical weapons by Iraq.
In 1984, Iran submitted a draft resolution asking the UN to condemn Iraq's use of chemical weapons during the imposed war by Baghdad on Tehran.
According to the released document, the US ordered its delegate to the UN to "work to develop general Western position in support of a motion to take no decision" on Iran's draft.
If the attempts failed, the delegate was ordered to abstain from voting on the issue.
On March 29, 1984, the then Head of Iraq's Interests Section, Nizar Hamdoon, informed the then US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State, James Placke, that "Iraq strongly preferred a Security Council presidential statement to a resolution… but to not identify any specific country as responsible for chemical weapons use," the document read.
A day later, the UN Security Council issued a presidential statement condemning the use of chemical weapons, without naming Iraq as the offending party.
This is while a number of chemical-warfare instances reported by Iran have been verified by an international team of specialists dispatched to the Islamic Republic by the UN.
