Position paper

Committee: General Assembly.
(GA)

Delegation: جمهوری اسلامی ایران‎ Islamic Republic of Iran.

Delegate: .

Topic: Stockpiling, production and use of chemical weapons.

The delegation ofIran on behalf of the president Mahmud Ahmadineyad is pleased to be part of this committee, waiting that the opinion of the delegation are taken.

To begin with, this delegation is aware of thecurrent situation within the use of the chemical weapons. Iran's chemical weapons (CW) program was launched during the Iran/Iraq War, which lasted from 1980 through 1988. Both Iran and Iraq are parties wereparties to the 1925 Geneva Protocol, which prohibits the use of Chemical weapons. There was never any doubt that Iraq used chemical weapons against Iran. Iran reported in 2003 at least 100,000 knownvictims of the use of different types of chemical agents (nerve agents, blistering agents and mixed agents), 35,000 of them were considered serious, due to suffering from long effects of chemicalweapons deployed by Iraq (especially mustard gas).

From 2003 to the latest reports in 2007 the US intelligence community appeared to have been softening its view on the extent of Iran's chemicalweapon's production and stockpiles. The first Sect 721 report of 2003 claimed Iran "likely has already stockpiled blister, blood choking, and probably nerve agents." The y. 721 report, publicly released inMay 2006, but covering activities in 2004, made no reference to stockpiles and delivery systems. What remained was a statement that Iran "continued to seek production technology, training, andexpertise from foreign entities that could further Tehran's efforts to achieve an indigenous capability to produce nerve agents." The 2007 report stated that "Iran has a large and growing commercialchemical industry that could be used to support a chemical agent mobilization capability." Most of the facilities linked to Iran's chemical weapons program were ostensibly for civilian purposes, whether...