NEW YORK: Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud Al-Faisal said the Kingdom takes “very seriously Iranian pledges on fully respecting its commitments toward preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,” in his address at the United Nations here yesterday.

He also added that the international community should not adopt double standard on this issue if it wanted to tackle effectively the problem of proliferation. His statement, distributed to journalists at the General Assembly here, came as the five permanent members of the Security Council — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, met to discuss “nonproliferation.”

Prince Saud said that Iran should abide by their obligation to international community in such a way to “ensure a peaceful and rapid solution to the Iranian nuclear program crisis and save the region from devastating conflicts, arms race and serious environmental hazards.”

On Friday representatives from the United States, China, Russia, Britain, France and Germany agreed to submit to the UN Security Council a draft resolution reaffirming the existing sanctions on Iran, which is under four UN sanctions over its disputed nuclear program. According to a report released by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear monitoring body, last Monday, it said that due to Tehran’s obstruction it was unable to make much progress in its investigation of the Iranian nuclear program.

In his speech at the UN last Tuesday and also in the subsequent press conference, Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad had said that the subject of nuclear power is resolved as far Iran is concerned. “Iran has fully cooperated with the IAEA inspectors and the agency has repeatedly confirmed that Iran’s nuclear activities are peaceful.” Ahmadinejad said he had told the UN agency not to succumb to political pressure, indirectly hinting at the US pressure on IAEA to continue its investigations.

The Iranian president said that the language of force used by some countries does not affect Iran nor has sanctions had an effect on Iran. “They have just placed sanctions on themselves. Iran is a vast country ... that is all propaganda and that does not affect us.” US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice condemned on two different occasions on Friday, once at the Security Council meeting to discuss the Palestine question and the other at a press conference also regarding Middle East peace process, Ahmadinejad’s previous statement on 2005 that said that the state of Israel should be wiped off the map.

“The United States of America will be asking the Council to convene again to take up the matter of one member of the United Nations calling for the destruction of another member in a way that simply should not be allowed,” Rice said.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Aboul Gheit, in his speech at the General Assembly, said security of the Arab Gulf is one of Egypt’s principal concerns. “We are following closely all the developments in the region in particular the discourse about ‘ new arrangements’,” said Aboul Gheit. He said that Egypt is working with GCC countries with a view to protect Arab national security and to guarantee that any such arrangements, if they come into existence, represent a true guarantee to the security of all parties.

Prince Saud said that although Saudis support negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis in order to reach a final solution “the least that we expect from Israel during these negotiations is that it should halt all settlement operations.”

Saud, while stressing on the Iraq situation, said that the Kingdom “affirms the need of noninterference in Iraq’s internal affairs.” He expressed grave concern about certain states continuing to provide financial and military support to some Iraqi militias.

He also referred to the principles that needed to be followed in human relations globally to tackle issues such as spread of crime, terrorism, disintegration of family, drug addiction, racism and exploitation of the poor by the rich.

He said, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah had urged leaders of different faiths during the recent International Interfaith Conference at Madrid to work together to tackle pressing issues facing humanity.