Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Abdulkarim Jafari called for support from the nuclear states helpign his country develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes.
“Iraq calls for assistance from nuclear countries to build a nuclear reactor for peaceful purposes in Iraq to acquire the nuclear technology,” the Minister told the UN General Assembly.
Jafari cited the provisions of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), according to which every country has a right to develop nuclear power for peaceful purposes. The NPT came into effect in 1970 with the aim of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and has been ratified by 190 governments. It recognizes five states — Russia, China, France, the United States and the United Kingdom — as nuclear powers. Three other nuclear states, namely India, Pakistan and Israel, have not signed the treaty. North Korea withdrew from NPT in 2003.