CONTROVERSY OVER Iran dominated the opening of a United Nations nuclear summit yesterday.
Ireland, however, did not join the US, UK, France and several other countries in walking out when Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed the gathering.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin even offered tacit criticism of the nations that took part in the walkout. “Personally, I’m not one for theatrics,” he said afterwards, adding that he believed there were other approaches that were more effective.
Mr Martin said the speech by Mr Ahmadinejad was “a bit more moderate” compared to previous addresses by the Iranian leader.
“He didn’t cross any red lines as far as we were concerned, which he has done in the past in relation to Israel.”
Mr Ahmadinejad instead directed most of his fire at the US. He referred to those who had carried out the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki as “among the most hated individuals in human history”, and said it was the US that had “brought about the nuclear arms race”.
He also accused Israel of belligerence in the Middle East and said it continued “to threaten the people and nations of the region with terror and invasion”.
In advance of the summit, the US ambassador to the UN, Susan Rice, told reporters: “If Iran has something new to say, it knows where to find us.”
US secretary of state Hillary Clinton was due to address the gathering within hours of Mr Ahmadinejad.
Iran says it is developing nuclear technology purely for energy purposes, but it is widely suspected, especially in the West, of trying to acquire nuclear weapons.
In a report to the UN conference yesterday, the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Yukiya Amano, said his agency had been unable to confirm that all of Iran’s efforts were peaceful because “Iran has not provided the necessary co-operation”.
Mr Martin offered his own criticism of the Iranians, noting that Mr Ahmadinejad’s speech had tried to create “a narrative that seeks to put the blame on others as opposed to Iran’s need to comply with the IAEA”.
Mr Martin reaffirmed that Ireland would support UN sanctions against Iran in the event of a continued failure to comply.
The summit takes place every five years and is aimed at strengthening the UN Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which came into force in 1970.
A former Irish minister for foreign affairs, Frank Aiken, was a prime force behind the creation of the treaty, which seeks to move towards disarmament of states that already have nuclear weapons and to limit their spread to other countries. Ireland was the first nation invited to sign the treaty and the first to ratify it.
Mr Martin said this history “gives us respect”.
“We are considered to be consistent in our advocacy for the treaty. We are perceived as a country with no baggage and as genuine honest brokers on this issue.”
In his speech, the Minister for Foreign Affairs emphasised that the conference would “not be seen as a success unless we reach agreement on specific measures to advance disarmament”.
Mr Martin added afterwards the efforts of US president Barack Obama to advance these issues had “given a shot in the arm to the non-proliferation agenda”.