U.S. and Iranian officials clash over nuclear ambitions

U.S. and Iranian officials clashed over the Islamic Republic’s nuclear ambitions during the opening of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty review, a global conference taking place at the United Nations headquarters in New York, which started Monday. The dispute was almost certain to continue during the four-week meeting.

At issue was the election of Iran as one of 34 vice-presidents of the conference. Iran was a candidate of the Nonaligned Movement, comprising 121 mainly developing countries.

The U.S. was backed by Australia and the United Arab Emirates. The United Kingdom, France and Germany also expressed “concern.” Russia objected to singling out Iran.

The U.S. representative, whose name was not immediately available, said the Trump administration was “deeply shocked” that a country that has demonstrated “contempt” for the treaty is now a vice president.

Iran’s Ambassador to the U.N. in Vienna, Reza Najafi, categorically rejected the U.S. statement, calling the allegations “baseless and politically motivated.”

Conferences to review the nuclear non-proliferation treaty are held every five years. The goal of the treaty is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and achieve nuclear disarmament, according to the U.N.