Cuba-Iran
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This position paper is write under the perspective of the State of Cuba, member of the IAEA (International Atomic Energy Agency) Board of Governors, about the situation of Iran and its nuclear weapons. The main purpose of this position paper is to analyze the international nuclear diplomacy nowadays and its intrinsic relations.
Cuba’s Position
Cuba has been improving its relationship with Iran soon after Ayatollah Khomeini rose to power in 1979. Ayatollah and Fidel Castro, Lider Maximo of Communist Cuba, have been denouncing the Western hegemony and condemning pressures aiming to establish alien styles in developing other countries, disrespectfully with their culture, history, identity and sovereignty (Iran press service.com).
Even though they do not agree with things like religion, national politics, and many other things, they have a very important thing in common: the ideological animosity toward United States and its values.
Cuba’s head of state, Fidel Castro, visited Iran in May of 2001, where the Iranians proclaimed their admiration for him as he said that “Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees” (Carta de Cuba.org). Last Iranian President, Khatami, also visited Cuba in 2000, and he declared that imperialistic countries who seek greater economic power will not monopolized technology and knowledge, and Cuba and Iran improved its biotechnology cooperation. U.S. maintains that Cuba’s main objective is to obtain better oil contracts with Iran.
Concerning nuclear weapons, it is said that Cuba does not posses any of them. But Cuba has become a highly militarized society due to its communist revolution in 1959, and its fear of an armed aggression from U.S. Cuba has signed the Treaty of Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and ratified the Treaty of Tlatelolco, witch prohibits nuclear weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean. Cuba has also acceded to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). Although it seems Cuba is against these kinds of mass destruction weapons, they do have a program on biological warfare agents. Today, Cuba possesses the most advanced biomedical industry in the Latin America. And because of that, since 1990, they have been transferring to Iran vaccines, self developed technology, and providing advanced training to Iranian scientists.
Addressing to the IAEA Director General
Mr. Director General of IAEA,
The Cuba Government shares the same believes on nuclear disarmament than IAEA. As proof of that, we have signed many treaties of non-proliferation of mass destruction armament. And the decision of signing them goes beyond our national interests. Cuba’s commitment is to promote, strength and consolidate a multilateralism treaty, even thought the strongest nuclear power in the world maintains a policy of hostility against our country, and it does not exclude the use of armament against us.
Although Cuba supports IAEA, we consider unacceptable the unfair treatment for some countries. Cuba is worried about discrimination of some countries, unequal rights and unfair privileges, and is also concerned by the actual deterioration the multilateral disarmament machinery has faced during the last years, mainly due to the unilateral and obstructionist attitude of the main nuclear power.
Concerning the lasts events, we believe that the discussion on Iran’s nuclear weapons has to be postponed. We think that priority should be giving to the beginning of negotiations to conclude a universal disarmament. Meaning that all the states equally, have to start developing negotiations favoring nuclear disarmament. For us, the main threat of humanity is not Iran, neither the Middle East as France, Germany