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"Iraq was, and is still, ready to cooperate with the Security Council and international organizations," Sabri said
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UNITED
NATIONS, September 19 (News Agencies) - Iraq told the U.N. General
Assembly Thursday, September 19, that it was clear of all nuclear,
chemical and biological weapons, and accused U.S. President George W.
Bush of seeking a pretext to attack it.
"I
hereby declare before you that Iraq is clear of all nuclear, chemical
and biological weapons," Foreign Minister Naji Sabri said, quoted
by Agence France-Presse (AFP).
Speaking
from the same rostrum where Bush last week challenged the United
Nations on Iraq and threatened a unilateral "unavoidable
action" if the U.N. failed to back the U.S. in an Iraq attack,
the Iraqi Foreign Minister accused the United States of working for
Israel and of trying to seize control of the vast oil resources of the
Middle East.
On
Monday, September 16, Sabri gave U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan a
letter saying that Iraq was willing to allow U.N. weapons inspections
to resume "without conditions" after a hiatus of almost four
years.
The
decision was "in response to several appeals made by the
Secretary General, peace-loving states and regional
organizations," Sabri told the Assembly.
"Iraq
was, and is still, ready to cooperate with the Security Council and
international organizations," he went on.
"However,
Iraq rejects any transgression by whosoever at the expense of its
rights, sovereignty, security and independence that is in
contradiction with the principles of the Charter and international
law," he said.
"It
is for this reason that Iraq has persevered and is still prepared to
endure more for this end."
"We
have suffered a lot as a result of the arrogance and aggression
adopted by successive American administrations," Sabri said, in
reference to the 12-year-old crippling sanctions on Iraq.
"These
administrations have violated the principles of the U.N. Charter and
international law."
He
accused the incumbent president of "utilizing the American
propaganda machine, along with official statements of lies, distortion
and falsehood" to drum up public support for a new military
strike against Iraq.
Sabri
began his speech by renewing "our condolences to the American
people" for the terrorist attacks of September 11 last year, and
expressing "our deep sympathy" to the families of the
victims.
But,
Bush had made "the utmost distortions on the nuclear, biological,
and chemical threats so as to make American citizens believe the
deliberate insinuation that Iraq was linked to the American people's
tragedy of September 11," he said.
"In
targeting Iraq, the United States administration is acting on behalf
of Zionism which has been killing the heroic people of Palestine,
destroying their property, murdering their children, and seeking to
impose their domination on the whole world," Sabri went on.
The
United States "wants to destroy Iraq in order to control the
Middle East oil," he said.
"If
it succeeded in that, God forbid, it would dictate on you what each
country needs for its economic development, what quantities of oil it
is allowed to buy, and at what prices, along with other
conditions."
While
Sabri said Iraq was willing to let the U.N. resume arms inspections,
he said it was "established beyond doubt" that before the
inspectors were withdrawn in 1998, they spied on Iraq for the United
States and "deliberately created problems to prepare the ground
for possible military attacks."
