Iran Ratifies Chemical Weapons Pact

November, 10, 1997 A.D.:
Iran Ratifies Chemical Weapons Pact

By: Mir M.Hosseini

Iran ratifies Chemical Weapons Pact, a treaty banning the production and possession of nerve gas weapons. The treaty subjects Iran to mandatory international inspections. Thousands of Iranians became victims of chemical weapons during the Iran–Iraq war. Iran and Holland signed an MOU on treatment of chemical weapons victims, ironically enough a Dutch middleman who confessed working for the intelligence service of Netherlands, was the main supplier of chemical material to Baghdad during the war.
Efforts to rid the world of chemical weapons received a significant boost with Russia's signature of the instruments ratifying the Chemical Weapons Pact on Nov,8. The treaty bans manufacturing, stock-piling and use of chemical weapons in an effort to destroy existing stocks and to prevent countries acquiring new chemical arsenals. At the time, Russia had the world's largest stock of chemical weapons.
The decision to participate in an international arrangement against development and use of chemical weapons created speculations about the Tehran's motives, but was hailed as a crucial development by the treaty's chief enforcer.
In an extensive campaign, the United States constantly accuses Iran of trying to acquire WMD, reminding people of state propaganda during the Cold War era. Iran has regularly denied the accusations, signed the NPT and opened it's nuclear facilities to inspections to ensure the world that she wants to use the nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. On the other hand, Israel which has never signed the NPT has more than 200 nuclear warheads and enjoys unconditional U.S. backing.

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KEY TERMS:Baghdad , Chemical Weapons Pact , Cold War , Dutch , Holland , Iran , Iranian , Iraq , Israel , MD , MOU , Netherlands , NPT , Russia , Tehran , United States , Weapon , WMD

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