Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif[/caption]Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has reiterated the Islamic Republics opposition to the development of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs).
We, as the latest and one of the biggest victims of weapons of mass destruction, are of the opinion that no kind of WMDs should ever be produced, Zarif said on Wednesday.
He made the remark in the Austrian capital of Vienna in a ceremony held to honor the Austrian and Iranian physicians involved in the treatment of Iranian war veterans injured in gas attacks by the former Baghdad regime during the eight-year Iraqi imposed war against Iran (1980-1988).
According to reports, the use of chemical weapons by Iraq inflicted over 100,000 casualties on the Iranian side, with many others dying on a daily basis as a result of the chemicals. Around 20,000 soldiers were killed instantly by nerve gas.
The countrys northwestern city of Sardasht was the main target of Iraq's chemical bombardments during the eight-year Iraqi imposed war. Sardasht was attacked with mustard gas bombs twice.
The Iranian foreign minister criticized Western countries, who, he said, claim to be against WMDs and nuclear weapons, for providing the former Iraqi regime with chemical arms in the 1980s.
Zarif further stressed the peaceful nature of Irans nuclear energy program, saying Tehran stands ready to do whatever it takes to prove that its nuclear energy program is peaceful.
We are ready to prove to the world that we have never been and will never be seeking nuclear weapons, he said.
Iran has repeatedly expressed its strong opposition to any production, possession or use of nukes, saying such arms have no place in the Islamic Republics nuclear doctrine.
On February 22, 2012, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said Iran considers the pursuit and possession of nuclear weapons a grave sin from every logical, religious and theoretical standpoint.
The Leader described the proliferation of nuclear weapons as senseless, destructive and dangerous, adding that the Iranian nation has never sought and will never seek atomic bombs as the country already has the conventional capacity to challenge the nuclear-backed powers.
By Press TV
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