Iran urges total ban on nuclear weapons

Iran's envoy to the UN on Friday urged the international community to reject nuclear weapons and impose a total ban on nuclear tests. "The complete destruction of nuclear weapons guarantees that they will be used no more, even by accident," envoy Mohammad Khazaee said at the informal UN General Assembly meeting dedicated to the International Day against Nuclear Testing. Diplomats present at the meeting pushed for the ratification of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). "Iran believes that the CTBT is a further step towards nuclear disarmament, but the treaty can not substitute total ban on nuclear weapons," Khazee said. "Nuclear disarmament should be put on the agenda of the international community and nuclear tests should be prohibited, including computer generated simulations," the Iranian diplomat added. The West suspects Iran of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program, but the Islamic republic, which is already under four sets of international sanctions over its nuclear activities, insists it needs nuclear power solely for civilian purposes. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said the use of nuclear weapons is "un-Islamic."