Araghchi made a message on Sunday during the national day of combat against chemical and biological weapons. The opportunity marks the 38th anniversary of the chemical attack on Saldasht, the city of Iran, northwest Iran, by former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein.
As a major initiator of nuclear-weaponless regional initiatives, Iran has consistently been at the forefront of fighting such weapons, he said.
He firmly believes that Iran has never stopped pursuing justice against victims of chemical warfare, and that justice implementation is a “necessary prerequisite” to prevent the recurrence of atrocities such as the chemical artillery fire of Sardasht.
Through collective resolve and effort, the Iranian Foreign Minister expressed his sincere hope that there will be a day when humans will not be victimized by weapons of mass destruction.
On June 28, 1987, the Saddam administration dropped a mustard gas bomb on Saldasht, killing at least 119 Iranian civilians and wounding another 8,000 people, some of which remained permanently disabled.
Western countries, including Germany, the Netherlands, the UK, France and the US, were contributing to the chemical weapons programme of the then Iraqi regime.
Araghchi said reliable evidence and proof-of-life documents confirmed that certain Western countries, particularly the US, the UK and Germany, could provide Saddam’s regime with chemicals, technology and necessary equipment and adopt chemical weapons against Iranians.
He added that support for the West, along with the abominable silence of the international community, encouraged the Saddam administration to continue its atrocities and with immunity it further violated international law.
Araguchi further noted that the world has recently witnessed the assassination of Iranian women and children, ordinary civilians, university professors, nuclear scientists, senior military and civilian officials.
“These same Western countries are in line with invaders and attackers, providing de facto support for acts of aggression and violations of international law and UN Charter,” Iranian diplomats emphasized.
He warned that the Israeli regime’s attack on Iran’s critical infrastructure poses a risk of serious humanitarian and environmental catastrophes, including facilities involved in the production of industrial chemicals.
He said Iran has formally called for the convening of an emergency meeting of the Executive Council of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to investigate and condemn such inhuman attacks.
At the end of his message, Aragut paid tribute to the indomitable perseverance, solidarity, unity and resilience of the Iranian nation, proud to stand up to recent attacks by the Zionist regime and the United States.
Early on June 13, the Israeli regime launched a full attack on Iranian soil by targeting various military and nuclear sites, claiming the lives of dozens of military commanders, nuclear scientists, and ordinary civilians.
On June 22, the United States joined the Israeli regime in an attack, bombing three Iranian nuclear sites with serious violations of the UN Charter, international law, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
A day later, Iran fired a wave of missiles at Aldead Air Force Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in West Asia.
Iranian forces were forced to unilaterally declare an armistice contract on June 24, using many new generation missiles that hit Israel and its military and industrial infrastructure, and accurately attacked designated targets.
rhm/