Officials from the United States and Iran clashed over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions at the opening of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review, a dispute almost certain to continue during the four-week meeting.
At issue was the election of Iran as one of 34 vice-presidents of the conference. Iran was a candidate of the Nonaligned Movement, comprising 121 mainly developing countries.
The US was backed by Australia and the United Arab Emirates, and the UK, France and Germany also expressed “concern”. Russia objected to singling out Iran.
The US representative, whose name was not immediately available, said the Trump administration was “deeply shocked” that a country that has demonstrated “contempt” for the treaty is now a vice-president.
Iran’s Ambassador to the UN in Vienna, Reza Najafi, categorically rejected the US statement, calling the allegations “baseless and politically motivated”.
