TEHRAN – Cuban Foreign Minister Bruno Rodriguez has warned about the consequences of the U.S. government’s withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal- JCPOA - and the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia.

In a video message to the UN General Assembly to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on Friday, Rodriguez strongly condemned the U.S. pullout from the two agreements, Press TV reported.

He warned that such unilateral actions will have serious repercussions for stability and security of the world.

Rodriguez also warned about the U.S.’s warmongering which runs counter to international efforts aimed to materialize nuclear disarmament.

He said the U.S. continues to possess the largest number of nuclear weapons available to be used and is the only country in the world that has dropped two atomic bombs.

The Cuban foreign minister explained that 75 years after the criminal bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, there are approximately 13,400 nuclear weapons, of which nearly 1,800 are on operational alert and 3,720 deployed, more than half of these belonging to the United States.

The UN cannot remain impassive in the face of the U.S. nuclear stance review, he said. 

Rodriguez also urged the United States to renew its Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with Russia.

In May 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear agreement, which was signed between Iran and six major powers.

In August 2019, Trump also exited the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia, which had banned land-based missiles with a range of between 500 to 5,500 kilometers.

Moscow subsequently warned at the time that the U.S. withdrawal would provoke another arms race among world powers.

At the Virtual Meeting of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on Friday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the U.S. is developing new nuclear weapons and recklessly lowering the threshold of their deployment.

“75 years after the U.S. dropped atomic bombs on innocent civilians in Hiroshima and Nagasaki—the first and only use of such horrific weapons—this meeting provides a unique opportunity to mobilize the world to liberate humanity from the nuclear nightmare,” Zarif remarked.

“25 years after the NPT Review and Extension Conference called for reduced reliance on nuclear weapons and the ICJ ordered good faith efforts towards nuclear disarmament, the U.S. is developing new nuclear weapons and recklessly lowering the threshold of their deployment. It has further caused immense damage to the NPT by unlawfully withdrawing from the INF and the JCPOA,” he added.

MH/