The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament today expressed regret at the IAEA’s decision to report Iran to the UN Security Council over its nuclear programme. This decision has already led Iran to announce its withdrawal from voluntary participation in the Additional Protocols to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Iran signed the Protocol in 2003 but it has not yet been ratified. Nevertheless, Iran has been allowing inspections to a level as high as those that would be applicable if the Additional Protocols were in force in Iran. These voluntary measures included snap inspections of nuclear facilities by IAEA inspectors. This level of cooperation will now cease and only those measures required under the NPT itself will now be in operation.
Kate Hudson, Chair of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, said, “Reporting Iran to the Security Council is a disappointing step backwards in nuclear non-proliferation. Already as a result we have seen Iran withdraw from voluntary confidence-building measures, such as compliance with the Additional Protocol. This can only lead to an escalation of tension, and there has already been a dangerous increase on all sides of threatening statements and talk of military action.”
She continued, “Peace in the Middle East will only be achieved when all nuclear weapon states throughout the world begin to comply with Article VI of the NPT, Britain included. Britain’s own likely nuclear proliferation – the Trident Replacement – sets a bad example to other states and will not discourage nuclear proliferation. Additionally, all states in the Middle East, including Israel and Iran, must give their full support to UN resolutions requiring a Nuclear Weapons-Free Zone in the Middle East. This would make a significant contribution to the prospects for peace in the Middle East.”
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Notes to Editor:
1. For further information and interviews please contact Rick Wayman, CND’s Press & Communications Officer, on 0207 7002350 or 07968 420859
2. The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) is one of Europe’s biggest single-issue peace campaigns, with over 32,000 members in the UK. CND campaigns for the abolition of all nuclear weapons everywhere.