Iran convened its second nuclear summit Sundayand urged the international community to pressure Israel into subjecting its nuclear program to international oversight, as well as join the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The convention was held under the banner of "Nuclear Energy for All, Nuclear Weapons for None."
Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, who was first to address the conference, blamed Israel and the United States for being an obstacle en route to a nuclear weapon-free Middle East.
- Last year's summit (Photo: Reuters)
Salehi called the Israeli nuclear arsenal "the main threat to the Middle East," and rebuked the United States: "Being Israel's main sponsor… It has the responsibility to halt its nuclear threat to the region."
The two-day Tehran conference is set to focus mainly on Israel's policyof nuclear ambiguity and its refusal to neither confirm nor deny its possession of nuclear weapons.
Salehi assured those in attendance that Iran "isalways ready for nuclear talks with the UN Security Council."
He also argued that instead of depriving Iran from civil nuclear energy, world powers should focus on Israel's "underhanded secrecy."