( Irna ) - Iran's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Mohammad Khazaei here on Monday called on IAEA to play a decisive role by vigorously pursuing a balanced and non-discriminatory application of the provisions of the NPT and the IAEA safeguards.
Addressing the UN General Assembly session on the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), he said, "The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) has reaffirmed the important objective of the IAEA and recognized the inalienable right of all NPT states parties to the peaceful use of nuclear energy." In fact, the inalienable right of all NPT states parties to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, without discrimination, constitutes one of the three major pillars upon which the NPT is founded, he said adding, "Notwithstanding such requirements, the cooperation of the developed countries, as the main suppliers of nuclear high technology, with the developing nations has remained at an unsatisfactory level."
In fact, nuclear cooperation between suppliers and recipients has been beset by restrictions, obstacles and disruptions, the Iranian envoy said adding that instead of promoting cooperation, the "nuclear haves club", laden with discrimination and a lack of transparency, was created, inter alia, to hamper the access of NPT developing members to nuclear power technology under the pretext of non-proliferation concerns.
"To remedy this shortcoming, the IAEA could and should play a decisive role by vigorously pursuing a balanced and non-discriminatory application of the provisions of the NPT and the IAEA safeguards," Khazaei reiterated.
Moreover, it is unfortunate that, after 50 years of existence, the budget of the international cooperation section of the agency remains unsteady due to its voluntary nature and the conditionality imposed by certain member states on its allocations.
He further stressed that efforts to strengthen the technical cooperation activities of the agency aimed at improving the capabilities of developing countries in nuclear energy production, as a component of their energy mix, should be pursued as a matter of priority.