In her address to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty Review Conference in New York, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked that all signatories to the NPT "work. . . .to strengthen global non-proliferation rules and hold accountable those who violate them."
She strongly countered attempts to undermine the work of the Review Conference, noting that Iran would do anything to divert the conference from Iran's own violations. "It has defied the UN Security Council and the IAEA [International Atomic Energy Agency] and placed the future of the nonproliferation regime in jeopardy. And that is why it is facing increasing isolation and pressure from the international community."
Earlier the same day, Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had addressed the assembly with an inflammatory speech that completely ignored international questions over Iran's disregard for its NPT obligations. Instead, he made a series of false, distasteful and inflammatory accusations against the United States and others, causing the U.S., French, and British representatives, along with those from several other nations, to leave the chamber.
Secretary of State Clinton called the Iranian president's remarks "tired, false and sometimes wild."
"But that is not surprising. . . Iran will do whatever it can to divert attention away from its own record and to attempt to evade accountability. Ultimately, however, we will all be judged not for our words but for our actions. And we will all be measured not by how assertively we claim our rights, but by how faithfully we uphold our responsibilities. And as the Secretary General [of the UN Ban Ki-moon] has said,
in this regard, the onus is on Iran. So far, it has failed to meet its burden."
Secretary of State Clinton said that Iran's efforts to divert and divide will not succeed. "The United States and the great majority of the nations represented here come to this conference with a much larger agenda: to strengthen a global nonproliferation regime that advances the security of all nations to advance both our rights and our responsibilities. . . .Now is the time," said Secretary Clinton, "to build consensus, not to block it. And I call on Iran to join with all the other delegations represented at this meeting to go ahead and fulfill our international obligations and work toward the goal of a safer world."
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asked that all signatories to the NPT "work. . . .to strengthen global non-proliferation rules and hold accountable those who violate them."
