Speaking at the 30th Conference of the Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention in The Hague on Tuesday, he said the treaty was established to prevent the scourge of chemical weapons use.
“We Iranians feel the extreme pain and suffering inflicted on soldiers and civilians by chemical attacks during former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein’s war of aggression against Iran. Forty years later, our wounds are open, and the horrors of chemical weapons are illustrated by the continued suffering of our war heroes, veterans, and their families from the extreme pain (inflicted during the wars imposed by Saddam’s regime).”
“For us, and for the whole world, Sardasht is an iconic name in the global campaign for the prohibition of chemical weapons and justice for the victims,” he said, adding that the people of Sardasht were among the many innocent Iranian civilians and combatants targeted by chemical weapons during the eight years of Sacred Defense (1980-1988, when Iraq imposed a war on Iran).
Araghchi arrived in The Hague early Tuesday to attend the 30th Conference of the Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention.
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