BANGKOK, August 14. /TASS/. The US and Israel are attempting, through barbaric methods, to deprive Iran of its inalienable right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy, Iranian Ambassador to Thailand Nassereddin Heidari told a TASS correspondent.

"The bitterness of this story is that, two nuclear powers - one of which has a history of using the atomic bomb for mass slaughter, and the other, despite possessing nuclear arsenals, is not a party to any disarmament treaty including the NPT (the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - TASS) - are attempting illegal and barbaric methods to deprive a nation of its inalienable right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy," the diplomat said.

"What is certain is that Iran has never sought to develop weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons. There is no evidence in the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) documents indicating any diversion in Iran's nuclear activities. More than 15 reports by the Agency to the Board of Governors regarding the non-diversion of Iran's peaceful nuclear program confirm this fact. Based on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Treaty (NPT), to which Iran is a party, all countries have the inalienable right to [the] peaceful use of nuclear energy, including nuclear enrichment for peaceful purposes. To deprive a nation of these rights is against the NPT, the documents of the NPT Review Conferences, and the sovereign rights of a nation," Heidari emphasized.

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei had previously stated that US President Donald Trump’s statements about Iran’s alleged new nuclear facility are baseless and only serve as a pretext for launching strikes against the country.

The US and Israel launched a war against Iran on February 28. In June, Washington and Tehran, with Islamabad acting as mediator, signed a memorandum of understanding providing for an immediate cessation of hostilities on all fronts, including in Lebanon. However, in the early morning hours of July 8, the US resumed large-scale strikes against Iran, accusing it of violating the terms of the agreements reached on the Strait of Hormuz.