Iran to West: Deal with your own nukes, stop speculating about ours

Iran called on the West Tuesday to focus on dismantling its own nuclear weapons and stop speculating about what Tehran may or may not have.

A spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry said that some countries, while committed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, have nevertheless provided Israel with nuclear submarines, an apparent reference to the four German-made Dolphin-class submarines that Israel has recently bought from Berlin. According to foreign media reports, the Dolphin is a nuclear submarine.

At a meeting on Tuesday of 189 Non-Proliferation Treaty nations, Iran and Arab countries slammed Israel, and Egypt’s senior Foreign Ministry official Ahmed Fathalla warned that Arab states might rethink their opposition to developing atomic arms if a nonproliferation conference does not materialize.

The exchanges at Tuesday’s meeting are dimming hopes that a conference on making the Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction can be convened as planned later this year

Because Israel has not signed the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it was not present at Tuesday’s debate. But the US argues that singling it out diminishes the prospect of the planned meeting between Israel and its neighbors.

Despite the Foreign Ministry rebuke, Mohsen Rezai, a close adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has expressed confidence in the upcoming talks between Iran, the P5 + 1 and Iraq, scheduled to be held in Baghdad on May 23.

On Monday, the United States called on Iran to take immediate concrete confidence-building steps in preparation of the Baghdad summit.

Also Monday, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman met with his German counterpart Guido Westerwelle to discuss, among other topics, the Iranian issue.

Liberman stressed in the meeting that the next round of talks must not end without concrete decisions that will force Tehran to stop developing nuclear weapons. According to Israel Radio, Liberman said that simply deciding on further talks is not enough.

Westerwelle said that sanctions against Iran are effective and that negotiations with Tehran on its nuclear program should be given a chance, while reassuring Liberman that Germany “will not stand idly by and watch if Israel and its right to exist is questioned.”

AP contributed to this report.