Iran's deputy envoy to the UN says if Russia and the US do not sign the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START), the international security would be further undermined, Press TV reported.
"If this agreement is approved by the parliaments of these countries and implemented, it could be considered as a positive step towards nuclear disarmament," Eshaq Alehabib said on Thursday in the annual summit of the Committee on Disarmament and International Security at the UN.
Alehabib added, however, that if the US and Russia fail to sign the treaty, it would cause disappointment and more fragility in the international security, IRNA reported.
The START pact between the US and Russia lowers the limits on strategic nuclear warheads and the means to deliver them. It effectively reduces the number of warheads each nation possesses to its lowest level in more than 50 years.
During the past 40 years, the nuclear states have not met their legal obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to destroy their atomic weapons, the Iranian diplomat said.
Alehabib also cited Iran's proposal to establish a "nuclear-free Middle East" and said, "The Zionist Regime, which possesses nuclear weapons and refuses international calls to join the NPT, is the only obstacle to the realization of this project."
He stressed Iran's determination to claim its right to a peaceful use of nuclear energy and added that Tehran is committed to its obligations and has always expressed its readiness to negotiate without any preconditions and based on justice and mutual respect.