国际英语新闻：Iran calls U.S. nuclear strategy "terrorism"

UNITED NATIONS, April 12 (Xinhua) -- Iran on Monday urged members of the United Nations to denounce the new U.S. Nuclear Posture Review, which refuses to rule out the use of nuclear weapons against the Middle Eastern state, as a form of "terrorism. "

"Can the U.S. new nuclear strategy which authorizes the use of nuclear bomb against other countries, including Iran, be named other than 'state terrorism,' in its truest sense?" Mohammad Khazaee, the Iranian ambassador to the UN, asked a General Assembly committee on measures to eliminate international terrorism.

"This policy of nuclear blackmail and terror which runs counter to international law and the Charter of the United Nations, and significantly undermines the trust of nations in the objectives of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), must be denounced by the international community and all peace-loving nations," he said.

The new Review indicates that the United States will not employ nuclear weapons against non-nuclear nations that are NPT signatories in good standing. The U.S. and other nations contend that Iran has violated the treaty's terms by pursuing atomic weapons, an accusation Iran denies.

Khazaee's statement, which was sent out to the UN press corps by the Iranian spokesperson, called on the General Assembly to clearly define the term, "terrorism," and argued that the American policy to use nuclear weapons against an NPT signatory be included in such a definition.

"We believe that a consensual definition of terrorism should strengthen international cooperation against terrorism and end any ambiguity concerning this term," said Khazaee. "Isn't it a clear manifestation of large-scale state terrorism to publicly and shamelessly threaten a sovereign state, which is a member of the United Nations and a party to the NPT, with nuclear bombs?"

On Sunday, the Associated Press quoted Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast as saying that Iran plans to submit a formal grievance to the United Nations.

The new Review makes little sense, for "in the 21st century which is the century of defending human rights and fighting terrorism, the president of a country threatens (another country) by an atomic attack," Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has said, according to the semi-official Fars news agency.

"The world should not overlook such words," he added.