Iran appealed on Saturday for "atomic criminal" the United States to be suspended from the UN nuclear watchdog at a disarmament conference it is hosting.

At the opening of the two-day meeting, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ruled out any use of atomic weaponry as "haram," meaning religiously banned under Islam.

Iran also called for changes to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, while Iraq, Lebanon and Syria voiced support for Tehran's "peaceful" nuclear programme and demanded Israel join the NPT "without conditions."

Khamenei branded the United States an "atomic criminal" in a message read out by an aide at the nuclear disarmament conference, Tehran's answer to a summit held in Washington earlier this week.

Hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad went a step further and called for Washington's suspension from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) along with all other nations which possess nuclear arms.

"Only the US government has committed an atomic crime," said the message of the all-powerful Khamenei who formulates Tehran's foreign policy, including its nuclear strategy.

"The world's only atomic criminal lies and presents itself as being against nuclear weapons proliferation, while it has not taken any serious measures in this regard," he said.

Ahmadinejad, under whose presidency Iran has defiantly pushed ahead with its controversial nuclear programme despite three sets of UN sanctions, attacked the present structure of the UN Security Council, the IAEA and the NPT.

"An independent international group which plans and oversees nuclear disarmament and prevents proliferation should be set up," he told the conference attended by several foreign ministers and UN officials.

He said those countries which "possess, have used or threatened to use nuclear weapons should be suspended from the IAEA and its board of governors, especially the US."

Ahmadinejad's remark was expected to irk allies Russia and China, two nuclear states with veto powers in the Security Council that have so far hesitated to back a fourth set of sanctions against Tehran.

"The right to veto, which is undemocratic, inhumane and unfair, should either be annulled, or if some insist on having this right, then some countries from Latin America, Asia, Africa and Europe should also have the right to veto in order to reduce its negative outcomes," he said.

Khamenei and Ahmadinejad have been angered by Washington's new nuclear policy unveiled last week.

The policy limits the countries against which Washington might use its nuclear arsenal but singles out Iran and North Korea as exceptions for flouting Security Council resolutions over their nuclear programmes.

Ahmadinejad also called upon "independent countries" to review the NPT, of which Iran is a signatory and as such considers it has the right to enrich uranium, the most controversial part of its nuclear programme.

"The presence of those possessing weapons, especially the US, prevents the drawing up of a fair treaty," he said.

Iran's atomic chief Ali Akbar Salehi later in an interview on English language Press TV channel demanded that "a clear date be mentioned for global nuclear disarmament."

Before the first day ended, the foreign ministers of Lebanon, Syria and Iraq jointly blasted Israel, Middle East's sole but undeclared nuclear weapons power.

"The major threat in the region is Israel which has nuclear warheads. Israel must join this treaty and take quick steps to destroy its nuclear weapons," Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem said.

His Lebanese counterpart Ali al-Shami said Israel should be "stripped" of its arsenal "since the atomic weapons of the Zionist regime are not inspected, there is a danger of these weapons being used in the future."

"This regime must join the NPT without any conditions."

And Hoshyar Zebari, the foreign minister of Iran's former foe Iraq, said: "We reject any threat against Iran and insist on Iran's rights to use peaceful nuclear energy."

The Jewish state, which has never publicly acknowledged having atomic weapons while maintaining a policy of deliberate ambiguity, has not ruled out a military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities to halt its atomic programme.

earlier related report
France accuses Iran of shunning nuclear dialogue
Paris (AFP) April 16, 2010 - France again accused Iran on Tuesday of shunning dialogue on its nuclear programme, raising the pressure on the Islamic Republic as key powers push for more sanctions.

"It takes two to have a dialogue," French foreign ministry spokesman Bernard Valero told reporters.

"Up to now, we have seen that rather than a dialogue, it has been more like a monologue or soliloquy" by Iran, he complained, citing a string of recent announcements by Iran on its uranium enrichment activities.

"It makes you dizzy. There is a new declaration almost every day."

Six major powers on Wednesday wrapped up talks at the United Nations on fresh UN sanctions against Iran. Ambassadors at the meeting described it as "constructive".

The meeting brought together envoys from the five veto-wielding members of the UN Security Council -- the United States, Britain, France, Russia and China -- plus Germany.

French President Nicolas Sarkozy meanwhile discussed Iran with EU foreign affairs chief Catherine Ashton at their first bilateral meeting since Ashton took up the newly-created post this year.

Ashton branded Iran "the number one challenge today for world security", a source at the Elysee presidential palace said, after their meeting.

France is pushing for a fresh set of UN sanctions against Iran, whom they suspect of trying to develop nuclear weapons. Iran insists its nuclear programme is aimed at producing energy for civilian use.

Sarkozy offered Ashton France's "full support" for her mission as the EU's top foreign and security representative.