Video: Iran slams US ‘double standards’ on nuclear threats, demands end to sanctions
Abdullateef Fowewe
Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has delivered a rebuke at the UN Conference on Disarmament, accusing the United States and European nations of hypocrisy for ignoring Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal—estimated at 90 warheads by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI)—while sanctioning Iran’s civilian nuclear program.
“While the United States and certain European countries have turned a blind eye to the threats posed by the Israeli nuclear arsenal to international peace and security, they have labeled the Iranian peaceful nuclear program as a threat to international peace and security,” Araghchi stated.
He lambasted Israel for “committing the most atrocious crimes for the past eight decades,” noting its attacks on seven regional countries in under two years and a Gaza death toll exceeding 70,000 in what he called “colonial genocide.”
These figures surpass UN-verified counts of 45,000 as of late 2025, aligning with Lancet studies estimating up to 186,000 indirect deaths since the conflict’s start.
Araghchi tied his remarks to ongoing indirect US-Iran nuclear talks in Geneva the same day, where he reported “good progress” on guiding principles but firmly rejected halting uranium enrichment, echoing Supreme Leader Khamenei’s stance.
The speech came amid Iran’s live-fire drills that temporarily closed the Strait of Hormuz.
Turning to Washington, he condemned “unlawful sanctions, military threats—including significant military deployments—the engagement in proxy wars, and the use of force” as violations of Article 2, paragraph 4 of the UN Charter.
“The new US administration must immediately and unconditionally cease the military threats and the economic terrorism against the Iranian people,” he urged, calling for an end to such pressures to enable regional disarmament.
