The threat from Iran is overhyped and there is no evidence to suggest the Islamic Republic is even interested in developing nuclear weapons, according to UN official Hans Blix.
Photo Credit: Dean Calma/IAEA
Blix was head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission in the run-up to the Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq. His commission found no weapons of mass destruction, of course.
The threat of a nuclear-armed Iran is overhyped, and there is no evidence suggesting that the country has or intends to produce weapons of mass destruction, a UN expert on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) said at a forum in Dubai on Tuesday.
Dr Hans Blix, Head of the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC), said during a talk at Capital Club that with North Korea making a nuclear bomb test detonation, the world should focus more on tackling the state that has violated the NPT.
“So far Iran has not violated NPT and there is no evidence right now that suggests that Iran is producing nuclear weapons. The fact that Tehran has enriched uranium up to 20 per cent leads to suspicion of a secret weapons programme, however, no action can be justified on mere suspicions or intentions that may not exist,” said Dr Blix, who is the former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Blix has previously explained that Iran is operating under a perception of threat, and that “In a way, the Iranians have been more open [to international inspections] than most other countries would be.”
