UN Nuclear Treaty Review Ending in Failure, Japanese Envoy Says

The U.S. called for amendments to the treaty to block the development of nuclear weapons by Iran and North Korea, or a determination to refer those issues to the UN Security Council. Delegations led by Egypt and Iran demanded assurances of the nuclear powers that they wouldn't attack non-nuclear nations, and that they would ratify the proposed test ban treaty.
Neither side compromised and the delegates didn't adopt an agenda until May 11 or refer key issues to committees until May 19, leaving too little time for agreements.
``This appears to be the most acute failure in the treaty's history,'' Thomas Graham, a U.S. envoy to disarmament talks under Democratic U.S. President Bill Clinton told reporters at the UN yesterday. ``It comes at a time when the treaty is under heavy pressure, weaker than it has ever been because of the Iranian and North Korean situations, and will have an effect on keeping the regime going.''