Iran has called for an 'immediate' and 'un-preconditioned' start to international nuclear disarmament talks, ahead of a major NPT conference, Press TV reported.
The call was made in a Saturday statement issued by the Iranian delegation at the third session of the preparatory committee for the 2010 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York.
In the statement the delegation also criticized the 'lack of commitment' shown by nuclear-armed states during the past four years, describing it as a 'dismal' retreat from NPT guidelines.
"We strongly urge the Review Conference to pay immediate attention to concerns that stem from the proliferation of nuclear weapons by atomic-armed states," read the statement.
The statement urged action against nuclear powers that had added a new line of atomic arms to their stockpiles, threatened to launch nuclear attacks against other states, and produced tons of military-grade uranium.
While US President George W. Bush was in office, the Pentagon started a campaign for a return to nuclear testing, based on the idea that the current US nuclear arsenal would not be adequate for the future.
Washington also sought to develop new low-yield nuclear weapons and improved nuclear bunker buster bombs to penetrate hardened targets buried deep underground.
All the while, the US was pressuring Iran to abandon uranium enrichment, which is at low levels and is permitted by the NPT for peaceful purposes.
The US position drew harsh criticism in Iran, where the sentiment was that Washington and other nuclear powers were trying to maintain their domination over the nuclear fuel market for when the world runs out of fossil reverses.
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