Saudi UN envoy stresses need to eliminate nuclear weapons

JEDDAH: The Saudi ambassador to the UN, Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, has stressed the importance of efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons.
The international community needs to adopt existing treaties, as well as legal and ethical frameworks, aimed at achieving a world free of nuclear weapons, he said.
“It is clear to everyone that nuclear reactors pose a threat even if they are used for peaceful purposes, especially if these reactors lack nuclear safety and security standards,” he added.
He expressed Saudi concern over Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor, located no more than 200 km from the Arabian Gulf coast, “especially as it is located on an active seismic line.”
Al-Mouallimi said: “Any radiation leakage will expose the region to serious danger to the air, desalination plants and food.”
He called on the international community, the UN and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to urge Iran to comply with international law and nuclear safety standards.
He also urged the IAEA to issue periodic reports of countries’ readiness to cope with possible disasters caused by leakages in nuclear reactors, so as not to repeat the Chernobyl disaster.
Saudi support for the Iran nuclear deal was based on the Kingdom’s belief in the need to limit the spread of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and worldwide, he said.
But Iran used revenues from the lifting of sanctions to continue destabilizing the region, especially by developing ballistic missiles and supporting terrorist groups, including Hezbollah and the Houthis, who target civilians in the Kingdom and Yemen and repeatedly threaten international shipping lanes, he added.
Al-Mouallimi urged the international community to adopt a firm and united stance toward Iran and its destabilization of the region.
He called on Tehran to stop supporting terrorism, abide by UN Security Council resolutions on ballistic missiles, and stop interfering in the affairs of other countries in the region.