Islamic states support Iran's right to nuclear energy
By Sara Rajabova
The Islamic Inter-Parliamentary Union (IIPU) meeting in the Sudanese capital Khartoum this week, in its final communique approved by members, stressed Iran's right to use nuclear energy and condemned the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists, Iran's IRNA news agency reported on Wednesday.
In the 17-point resolution closing a two-day meeting on Tuesday, the 48-member IIPU also demanded that weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and particularly nuclear weapons be removed from the Middle East.
The proposal was put forward by the Iranian parliamentary delegation to the eighth General Assembly Meeting of the IIPU.
The participants also underlined the need of using peaceful nuclear technology and turning the Middle East into a region free of weapons of mass destruction, especially atomic weapons.
Besides, the union stressed the right of all nations to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes while expressing deep concern over the nuclear arsenal of Israel.
Israel, the only possessor of nuclear weapons in the Middle East, is reportedly widely known to have between 200 and 400 nuclear warheads.
Iranian media reported that the Israeli government rejects all the regulatory international nuclear agreements -- the Non-Proliferation Treaty in particular -- and refuses to allow its nuclear facilities to come under international regulatory inspections.
The IIPU was established in 1999 based on an initiative from Iran. It seeks to strengthen parliamentary cooperation among Islamic countries in order to address challenges facing the Islamic world.