US repeating old Iran lies at UN

Iran's UN envoy has criticized the new US ambassador, who accused Tehran of supporting terrorism and attempting to develop nuclear weapons.

In a speech to the UN Security Council during a session on Iraq, Susan Rice said once the US withdraws its troops from Iraq, it would 'seek an end to Iran's ambitions to acquire an illicit nuclear capacity, and its support for terrorism'.

Iran's UN envoy, Mohammad Khazaee, said Rice's remarks were a repetition of the same 'groundless accusations' against Iran that the previous US administration had made.

"It is unfortunate that, yet again, we are hearing the same tired, unwarranted and groundless allegations that used to be unjustifiably and futilely repeated by the previous US administration," Khazaee said in a letter to the council's president, Japanese Ambassador, Yukio Takasu.

"Instead of raising allegations against others, the United States had better take concrete and meaningful steps in correcting its past wrong policies and practices vis-à-vis other nations, including the Islamic Republic of Iran," Khazaee added.

Khazaee said that Iran's nuclear program 'has been, is, and will remain, absolutely peaceful and Iran has never tried nor will ever try to acquire nuclear weapons'.

Iran announced on Wednesday that it has launched the test-stage of its first nuclear power plant in the southern port of Bushehr and that the nuclear facility had entered its preliminary phase operation. More