Iran criticizes new US nuclear strategy

A majority of lawmakers in Iran's parliament have called on the government to file a complaint with the UN against the United States. The move came after US President Barack Obama excepted Iran from a pledge not to use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them.

Obama announced his administration's new nuclear strategy last Tuesday. It includes a vow not to use nuclear weapons against countries that do not have them.

However, Iran was pointedly left off that pledge, along with the DPRK, because Washington accuses them of not cooperating with the international community on nonproliferation standards.

Iran's parliament speaker Ali Larijani expressed dissatisfaction over Obama's policies.

Ali Larijani, Iran's Parliament Speaker, said, "All these issues indicate the fact that the US president is pursuing the arrogant and dominating approach of the past but under the cover of public-deceiving gestures, while there is no difference in the identity of these policies and war-seeking policies of Bush."

Pressuring Iran in its standoff with the West is a particular focus of the new US nuclear strategy.

The US and some of its allies accuse Iran of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, but Tehran has denied the charges, saying its nuclear program is peaceful.

As for Iran's nuclear ambitions, US Defense Secretary Robert Gates says it will take a combination of economic pressure, better missile defense and cooperation with Mideast countries to deal with the issue.

Related stories