International Nuclear Disarmament Conference opens in Iran
On June 12, the International Nuclear Disarmament Conference opened in Tehran, Iran.
The conference took place over two days with the participation of delegations from 40 countries and representatives of international organizations such as the United Nations, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)...
Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant. (Source: Reuters)
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said the conference aimed to develop some practical mechanisms for nuclear disarmament. He expressed hope that the conference could help develop a universal culture of disarmament and move towards establishing a world free of weapons of mass destruction.
He said the international community now faces more threats from nuclear weapons than ever before and that the possession of about 23,000 nuclear warheads by a small number of countries is a potential danger to the world and could lead to unforeseeable disasters.
He stressed that Iran is not only against nuclear weapons but also against other weapons of mass destruction that pose a threat to humanity.
Speaking on the sidelines of the conference, Iran's permanent representative to the IAEA Ali-Asghar Soltanieh said Iran has so far produced over 50kg of 20% enriched uranium and still needs to speed up this production.
According to Mr. Soltanieh, Iran has successfully produced over 50kg of uranium enriched at 20% level, but currently still needs about 120kg of uranium enriched at this level to provide fuel for the research reactor in Tehran, so the production progress will be accelerated.
Last week, Iran announced it would begin enriching uranium to 20% at a new facility in Fordo, 150km south of the capital Tehran, and would triple its capacity.
Mr. Soltanieh said that Iran's parliament has authorized the construction of more nuclear plants in the country in the future to produce about 20,000 megawatts of electricity and Iran would welcome any country to participate in these construction projects, which would be carried out under the supervision of the IAEA.
Last year, the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization announced plans to build 20 more nuclear power plants to meet the country's energy needs./.
According to VNA/Vietnam+
