Iran denounces Washington nuclear summit, prepares its own

Iran, not invited to the Washington nuclear security summit that opened on Monday, says it will not be bound by any agreement between the 47 nations represented. Yet Iran will be near the top of the agenda, because Washington and some other Western nations accuse Iran of having a nuclear weapons program.

For its part, Tehran this week charged the United States of issuing a nuclear “threat” against it in new nuclear policy guidelines published last week.

The Islamic Republic – which has made steady advances in nuclear technology that it says will produce energy, not weapons – has for many years called for a nuclear-free Middle East. Israel is the only country in the Middle East that is known to have nuclear weapons.

“The outcome of the Washington conference is already known. Any decision taken at the meeting is not binding on those countries … not represented at the conference,” said Iran’s envoy to the Vienna-based United Nations nuclear watchdog agency, Ali Asghar Soltanieh, on Monday. “The new US [nuclear] policy proves Islamic Republic of Iran’s argument that the US is not committed to any global rules and regulations.”

Netanayhu: Don't let Iran rise like Nazi Germany

Iran, North Korea, and Syria were not on the guest list, in a deliberate snub that some analysts say was designed to further isolate those regimes and perhaps help convince them to adhere to safeguards of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel – which is believed to have some 200 nuclear warheads, but along with Pakistan and India is not a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) – decided at the last minute not to attend the conference.

Israel, whose politicians have raised the loudest alarm bells about Iran’s nuclear efforts, had been expecting to hear calls to dismantle Israel's own nuclear arsenal. Israel marked its annual Holocaust memorial day on Sunday, with Mr. Netanyahu attempting to link a threat from Iran with the rise of Nazi Germany.

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