US, Iran Clash at UN After Tehran Gets Nuclear Non-Proliferation Role | Dawn News English

Added: 2026-04-28

[00:00:00]The United States and Iran have clashed at the United Nations during a meeting of the nuclear nonprololiferation treaty review [music] conference in New York as tensions over the Iran's nuclear program continue to escalate. The 11th review conference of the [music] NPT which came into force in 1970 began on Monday at UN headquarters. During the meeting, Iran was selected as [music] one of 34 vice presidents of the conference. a nomination made by the group of non-aligned [music] and other states according to the conference chair.

[00:00:32]However, the decision drew sharp criticism from the United States.

[00:00:36]Christopher Yo, assistant secretary for the US Bureau of Arms Control and nonprololiferation called Iran selection an ephrine to the credibility of the NPT.

[00:00:47]>> The current NPT financing formula is fundamentally outdated and increasingly unsustainable.

[00:00:53]Since 1995, the division of costs among the five nuclear weapon states has remained completely [music] frozen despite dramatic shifts in the global economic landscape.

[00:01:04]This stagnation has created severe misalignments.

[00:01:08]United States currently pays 32.82% [music] of NPT costs, nearly 11 percentage points above our UN assessment rate.

[00:01:18]Russia pays 8%. Approximately six percentage points above its UN assessment. Meanwhile, China, despite experiencing extraordinary economic growth over the past three decades, contributes only 0.91%.

[00:01:34]This represents a staggering 19 percentage [music] point gap below China's UN assessment of 20.004%.

[00:01:44]To put this in perspective, there are currently 11 non-nuclear weapon states that pay more than China [music] under the current formula. The formula's origins compound the problem, while the 5545 split between nuclear weapon and non-uclear weapon states was established in 1980 to address legitimate concerns about disproportionate burden sharing.

[00:02:07]The internal distribution among the nuclear weapon states has failed to keep pace with the economic realities.

[00:02:14]The 1985 review conference specifically decided that costs should be quote borne by the state's parties to the treaty according to the scale of assessments adjusted in accordance with the membership of the treaty end quote. And yet we have [music] not honored this principle in practice. This misalignment undermines the fundamental principle that assessed contributions should reflect economic capacity to pay. It creates an inequitable burden on some nuclear weapon states while allowing others to contribute far below their means. The status quo is simply untenable. Without adjustment, we re we risk undermining confidence in the NPT review process itself and creating unnecessary friction among states parties that should be working together to strengthen the treaty.

[00:03:04]Mr. President, the United States proposes realigning the nuclear weapons states contributions based on the UN regular budget scale of assessments pr-rated for NPT membership while maintaining the overall 5545 split [music] between nuclear weapon and non-uclear weapon states established in 1980. This reform would bring NPT financing into the 21st century while preserving the fundamental principle of nuclear weapons state responsibility established over four decades ago. Thank you.

[00:03:37]>> Iran strongly rejected the US criticism.

[00:03:39]Resan Neafi, [music] Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, dismissed the remarks as baseless and politically motivated. He also questioned Washington's authority on nuclear compliance, pointing [music] out that the United States is the only country to have used nuclear weapons and continues to expand and modernize its own nuclear arsenal.

[00:04:00]>> My delegation rejects categorically and in the strongest possible term the statement just delivered by the United States.

[00:04:11]The allegation put forward are baseless and politically motivated, devoid of any credibility.

[00:04:21]They constitute a deliberate attempt to mislead this conference and to manipulate this procedure for narrow and selfserving purposes.

[00:04:34]If the qualification for serving as vice president of this conference [music] are to be assessed on the basis of compliance with the treaty then that standard must be applied uniformly and without double standard judged by such a standard. It is the United States not Iran that stand in serious deficit.

[00:04:59]It is indefensible that United States as the only state ever have used nuclear weapons and the one that continues to expand and modernize its nuclear arsenal in blatant disregard of its article 6 obligation seeks to position itself as an arbitrer of the compliance.

[00:05:23]It record of withdrawing from international agreements, disregarding commitments undertaken at previous review conferences and undermining multilateral disarmment process is well known.

[00:05:38]The sameation that today questioned Iran's commitment is the one that unilaterally withdraw from the joint comprehensive plan of action [music] and failed to implement its obligation despite Iran's continued adherence at the same time as verified by the international mechanisms.

[00:05:59]Most recently, the United States demonstrated the same destructive approach by preventing the adoption of the agenda of the disarmment commission, thereby blocking the substantive work of that body and once again showing disregard for the collective will of international community.

[00:06:20]Moreover, as one of the three co-sponsors of the 1995 resolution on the Middle East, US bears a special responsibility for the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons in that region. Yet, instead of fulfilling this responsibility, it has persistently obstructed progress toward this objective.

[00:06:44]In this context, the continued and unequal support by US for the Israeli regime's military nuclear program and unsafeguarded program outside the framework of the treaty fair exposes that profound inconsistency and selectability of its position. This support directly undermines the integrity [music] of the treaty and credibility of this conference. Equally alarming is the recent record of unlawful and unprovoked acts of aggression by the US in coordination with the Israeli regime against Iran and its peaceful nuclear facilities. Facilities that are under the safeguard of the International Atomic Energy Agency. that such acts have occurred not once but twice within less than a year represent a grave violation of international law and a direct assault on the integrity of the global nonprofession.

[00:07:50]Before concluding, I would like to put on the record that we also disassociate ourself with the election of the [music] US as vice president as well as Australia. Thank you very much, Mr. President.

[00:08:05]>> The exchange comes amid [music] heightened tensions over Iran's nuclear program, which remains a central issue in its ongoing conflict with the United States and Israel. US President Donald Trump has reiterated that Iran must never be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon. Iran meanwhile continues to maintain that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes and has long demanded recognition of its right to enrich uranium. Western countries however have raised concerns that the program could be used to develop nuclear weapons.