Deputy Foreign Minister Hassan Ghashghavi has challenged the double standards of the West when it comes to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and human rights conventions and said after the emergence of the Islamic Revolution and the discourse that originated from it, hegemonic powers encountered a conceptual crisis.
The following is the translation of a report by the Iranian Students News Agency on what the diplomat said in a ceremony on February 8 to mark the victory of the Islamic Revolution:
As for the nuclear talks between Iran and P5+1, the deputy minister said, “A half-baked deal would be of no use.”
Underscoring the influence of Iran as a source of inspiration in the region, Ghashghavi said, “Iran has exposed the West’s double standards. Israel is not a signatory to the NPT and has not signed the Additional Protocol; it has about 200 atomic bombs. That is a sign of injustice in the world because no inspector has ever visited Israeli facilities; no camera has been installed in their facilities. Besides, they have bought nuclear submarines in the last few years.”
Ghashghavi went on to say, “According to United Nations Security Council Resolution 598, Iran was the victim of the war [Saddam’s Iraq imposed on us]; we are a signatory to the NPT and we have been a victim of chemical weapons. Although Iran has allowed inspectors to install cameras in its nuclear facilities, there are over 20 million news stories against Iran on the Internet, while Iran does not have any Atomic bombs. However, the number of reports on Israel’s Dimona can hardly reach 100. That reflects the double standards of hegemonic powers in dealing with Iran.”
He further said, “I am sure that the Iranian negotiating team will stand its ground when it comes to Iranian dignity and the red lines set by the establishment. I hope a solution is reached. Even if that does not happen, our nation will remain on the scene.”
On double standards of the West, he said in China, Russia and Iran each year around 3,000 people are hanged mostly on the back of conviction of drug offenses. “The West views their executions as violation of human rights, but the total number of people killed in the wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Syria in the past decade is between 80,000 and 100,000, but that is not violation of human rights!”
“For those 3,000 they hand out awards, make movies, set up NGOs, launch websites, churn out hundreds of articles, but for those 100,000 people nothing happens.”
