Iran minister's attack on Israel prompts walk-out

By Stephanie Nebehay

GENEVA (Reuters) - Israeli and U.S. delegations walked out of the United Nations' disarmament forum on Tuesday after Iran said Israel was the "real source of nuclear danger in the Middle East" and had a "dark record of crimes".

Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told a Conference on Disarmament that Israel's nuclear weapons posed a "uniquely grave threat to regional and international peace and security" requiring action by the international community.

He also accused the Jewish state of being a "Zionist regime with a long and dark record of crimes and atrocities" including occupation, "state-terrorism" and crimes against humanity.

"It is surprising that while no practical step is taken to contain (the) real source of nuclear danger in the Middle East, my country is under tremendous pressure to renounce its inalienable right for peaceful use of nuclear energy", Mottaki told the conference, organized by the 65 members of the world's main forum for arms control negotiations.

In a statement, Israel's ambassador Itzhak Levanon to the U.N. in Geneva, said that he and his aides, and the entire U.S. delegation had "abruptly left the room as the Foreign Minister of Iran ... was in the middle of a vitriolic speech".

Levanon said Mottaki's speech was a "blatant insult" to the forum and the "only explanation for their undiplomatic behavior is that they are under much pressure as the international community unites against Iran's pursuit of a nuclear regime".

A U.S. spokeswoman in Geneva confirmed the walk-out and called Mottaki's remarks "outrageous and divisive" at a time the forum was trying to find common ground on global arms issues.

Israel, which has accused Iran of having an atomic weapons program, is believed to have the Middle East's only nuclear arsenal, but has maintained an "ambiguity" policy for years.

Six major powers negotiating United Nations sanctions against Iran for its nuclear ambitions on Monday said they were closer to a deal but needed more time to produce a Security Council resolution.

The resolution would penalize Iran for refusing to suspend uranium enrichment, which can be used in bombs or for peaceful purposes to generate electricity.

Mottaki reasserted that Iran had a right to a civilian atomic program but was ready to talk.

"We do believe that if we sit around the table, the potential is there for arriving at a comprehensive and agreeable solution," he told a news conference.