Iran wants world to give up its nukes

Iran is demanding that global leaders relinquish their nuclear weapons stockpiles.
 
Iranian Minister of Foreign Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif called for an end to atomic arms in an op-ed published on Friday.

“The Cold War-era asymmetry between states that possess nuclear weapons and those that don’t is no longer remotely tolerable,” Zarif wrote in The Guardian.
 
{mosads}“For too long, it has been assumed that the insane concept of mutually assured destruction would sustain stability and non-proliferation. Nothing could be further from the truth,” he continued.

“It is imperative that we change this erroneous security paradigm and move toward a better, safer and fairer arrangement.”
 
Zarif’s remarks follow the landmark deal over his nation’s nuclear arms research, announced on July 14.

The historic pact eases economic sanctions on Iran in exchange for greater restrictions on its atomic energy capabilities.
 
Zarif argued on Friday that diplomatic progress made on the agreement could lead toward shrinking nuclear proliferation worldwide.
 
“I sincerely believe that the nuclear agreement between my country — a non-nuclear weapon state — and the P5+1 (which control almost all nuclear warheads on Earth) is symbolically significant enough to kickstart this paradigm shift and mark the beginning of a new era for the non-proliferation regime,” he wrote.
 
The Iranian diplomat singled out Israel’s nuclear program for presenting a particular challenge to global peace.
 
“Israel — home to the Middle East’s only nuclear weapons program — has been the holdout,” Zarif said.
 
“In the light of the historic nuclear deal, we must address this challenge head on,” he added.
 
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday that the American public is gradually opposing the Iran deal as they learn its details.
 
“This deal, the more you learn about it, the opposition to it increases,” he said during a conference with diplomatic correspondents in Jerusalem.
 
“The debate in the U.S. is important, and you can see the shift,” he added.
 
Israel has never confirmed whether it possesses nuclear weapons.
 
Netanyahu has long argued that Iranian leadership is untrustworthy and threatens his nation’s existence.
 
President Obama has countered that diplomacy is the best means for preventing an Iran with nuclear arms.
 
Congress is now within a 60-day window for passing a resolution either approving or disapproving of Obama’s Iran deal.