Iran in ‘Full Compliance’ with Chemical Weapons Convention: Russia


Iran in ‘Full Compliance’ with Chemical Weapons Convention: Russia

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov rejected a recent claim by Washington that Iran is not abiding by the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, stressing that Tehran has been “fully” compliant with its commitments under the treaty.

“We are quite confident that Iran is fully and without any deviation abiding by the Chemical Weapons Convention as it is honoring its commitments under the JCPOA (Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action),” Ryabkov told reporters on Monday, the Tass news agency reported.

The new allegation raised by Washington is aimed at increasing political pressure on Tehran, he stressed.

Two US officials have said that the Trump administration will announce Monday that Iran is in non-compliance with the treaty outlawing the production, stockpiling, and use of chemical weapons and their precursors.

The announcement does not seek to allege that Iran has used chemical weapons but rather that it has maintained facilities and equipment which can be used for their production, apparently referring to Iranian production of fertilizers for agricultural use.

Although the claim does not carry immediate American penalties, it could be used to lodge an anti-Iran complaint with the Hague-based Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

Many Iranians are still suffering from the effects of chemical weapons used by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, who was backed by the US and Europe during his eight-year war on Iran in the 1980s.

At the time, repeated use of chemical weapons by Saddam against Iranian troops and civilians was met with the deafening silence of the West.

Iran never retaliated against Iraq’s chemical weapons attacks on troops and civilians, which killed 20,000 Iranians and severely injured 100,000 more.

Under the Trump administration, Washington has taken an increasingly hostile approach toward Tehran. Iranian officials have said the US measures are tantamount to an economic war on Iran.

Most Visited in Politics
Top Politics stories
Top Stories