Ahmadinejad takes center stage as nuclear treaty conference opens at the United Nations

Iran center stage at nuclear treaty conference

UNITED NATIONS — Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad seized center stage at the opening of a monthlong debate at the United Nations on how to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. But behind the scenes, U.N. Security Council powers were discussing ways to punish Iran for defying their demands that it curb nuclear activities that could be used to make bombs.

The Iranian president used his platform as the only head of state to address the conference of signatories of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) to undermine growing momentum in the Security Council for a new round of sanctions.

Ahmadinejad also scheduled a press conference in New York for Tuesday afternoon.

Speaking from the podium of the General Assembly Hall on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton accused Iran of “flouting the rules” of the nonproliferation treaty with its suspect uranium enrichment program.

“I hope that we can reach agreement in the Security Council on tough new sanctions,” Clinton told reporters, “because I believe that is the only way to catch Iran’s attention.”

Earlier in the day, Ahmadinejad rejected such allegations about its nuclear program, saying Washington has offered not “a single credible proof” that Iran was seeking nuclear weapons. Iran says it only wants the technology for producing nuclear power.

As the Iranian president spoke, the U.S. delegation, of working-level staff, walked out of the General Assembly, joined by several European delegations, including the French and British. Lower-level Iranian officials sat through Clinton’s later speech.

The rhetorical exchange between the United States and Iran dominated the first day of the month-long conference on how to improve the NPT. The treaty is formally reviewed every five years at a meeting of all 189 treaty members — all the world’s nations except India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea, all of which either have confirmed or are believed to have nuclear weapons.

While taking aim at Iran in her address, Clinton warned the delegates not to allow Tehran to distract them from finding ways to strengthen the enforcement of the treaty.

“This treaty is weakened when a state flouts the rules and develops illicit nuclear weapons capabilities,” she said. “Potential violators must know that they will pay a high price if they break the rules, and that is certainly not the case today.”

The review conference, which resumes Tuesday, is meant to produce a final document pointing toward ways to better achieve the NPT’s goals of checking the spread of nuclear weapons, while working toward reducing and eventually eliminating them.

Because it requires a consensus of all parties, including Iran, any final document would be highly unlikely to censure the Tehran government, which would block consensus.

U.S. officials have said they will be looking to isolate Iran at the conference and to produce an unofficial document calling for stricter enforcement of the NPT that could be signed by the overwhelming majority of signatory countries.

On the conference’s first day, the United States was supported in its stance against Iran by top U.N. officials.

Yukiya Amano, head of the U.N. watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency, leveled the specific indictment, saying his inspectors could not confirm that all of Iran’s nuclear material is devoted to peaceful activities.

As delegates assess the state of the NPT in U.N. conference halls, American and European diplomats will be working elsewhere to reach agreement with the sometimes reluctant China and Russia on a fourth round of U.N. Security Council economic sanctions against Iran.

In her address, Clinton proposed that the nonproliferation treaty be strengthened by introducing “automatic penalties” for noncompliance, rather than depend on such drawn-out council negotiations.

Ahmadinejad devoted much of his half-hour speech to the huge U.S. nuclear arsenal, denouncing the Obama administration’s refusal to rule out the use of those weapons.

“Regrettably, the government of the United States has not only used nuclear weapons, but also continues to threaten to use such weapons against other countries, including Iran,” Ahmadinejad said.

He referred to the new U.S. Nuclear Posture Review’s provision retaining an option to use U.S. atomic arms against countries not in compliance with the nonproliferation pact, a charge Washington lays against Iran.