TEHRAN, July 1 (UPI) -- The Iranian government views the use of weapons of mass destruction as a "blatant" assault to human rights, a foreign policy official said Monday.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said during May ceremonies marking the end of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s the chemical weapons program of Saddam Hussein inspired Iran's long-standing opposition to weapons of mass destruction. Iraq turned the tide of war in its favor through the use of chemical agents.
Mohammad Esmayeeli, a member of Iran's national security and foreign policy commission, said Monday the threat of WMD was a top concern for Iranian legislators.
"Making use of the weapons of mass destruction is the blatant violation of human rights," he was quoted by Iran's semiofficial Fars News Agency as saying. "The WMDs, including nuclear bombs and chemical weapons, disturb global tranquility and endangers human lives."
Iran is suspected by members of the international community of pursuing the technology needed to manufacture a nuclear weapon. Tehran denies the allegations, saying it has the right to conduct peaceful nuclear research as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Iranian government said it was interested in holding multilateral nuclear talks in Kazakhstan. Two rounds of talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany ended with few breakthroughs early this year.
