Iran: “Nuclear energy for all, nuclear weapons for none,”

We Also Worry About Nuclear Weapons in the Wrong Hands

Iranian leaders announced this week that they, too, are concerned over the possibility of nuclear weapons in the hands of terrorists. “We are also worried about the access of terrorist groups to nuclear weapons,” Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehman-Parast said, according to Iran's Fars news agency.

Mehman-Parast added that all nations should worry about terrorist access to nuclear arms.

However, he said, every country should be allowed to use nuclear energy. “Nuclear energy for all, nuclear weapons for none,” should be the world's motto, he declared.

He expressed concern not only about terrorists, but about Western powers with nuclear weapons. He criticized the United States in particular, accusing the US of failing to disarm and of threatening nuclear attacks on other nations.

US President Barack Obama recently said America would commit not to use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have nuclear weapons, even in the case of an attack with unconventional arms. However, he excluded Iran from the list of countries without nuclear weapons, as Iranian leaders have refused to grant full access to their nuclear facilities. That angered Iranian leaders, who said Obama's statement was a threat to bomb their country.

Iranian leaders insist that they are seeking nuclear technology for the sole purpose of producing energy. However, they have refused to allow full international supervision of their facilities, and have recently conducted tests on long-range missiles that could reach Europe or Israel. In addition, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has made repeated public threats to wipe Israel “off the map.” (for op ed on the Iran threat to Israel