libya gave up its nuclear weapons in march 1992.
libya gave up its nuclear weapons in march 1992.
when did libya give up its nuclear weapons?
march 1992
libya possesses ballistic missiles and previously pursued nuclear weapons under the leadership of muammar gaddafi. on 19 december 2003, gaddafi announced that libya would voluntarily eliminate all materials, equipment and programs that could lead to internationally proscribed weapons, including weapons of mass destruction and long-range ballistic missiles. libya signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (npt) in 1968 and ratified it in 1975, and concluded a safeguards agreement with the international atomic energy agency (iaea) in 1980. in march 2004, the iaea board of governors welcomed libya's decision to eliminate its formerly undeclared nuclear program, which it found had violated libya's safeguards agreement, and approved libya's additional protocol. the united states and the united kingdom assisted libya in removing equipment and material from its nuclear weapons program, with independent verification by the iaea.
nuclear proliferation
through 2008, the united states repeatedly refused to rule out using nuclear weapons in an attack on iran. the u.s. nuclear posture review made public in 2002 specifically envisioned the use of nuclear weapons on a first strike basis, even against non-nuclear armed states. investigative reporter seymour hersh reported that, according to military officials, the bush administration had plans for the use of nuclear weapons against "underground iranian nuclear facilities". when specifically questioned about the potential use of nuclear weapons against iran, president bush claimed that "all options were on the table". according to the "bulletin of the atomic scientists", bush "directly threatened iran with a preemptive nuclear strike. it is hard to read his reply in any other way." the iranian authorities consistently replied that they were not seeking nuclear weapons as a deterrent to the united states, and instead emphasize the creation of a nuclear-arms free zone in the middle east. the policy of using nuclear weapons on a first-strike basis against non-nuclear opponents is a violation of the us negative security assurance pledge not to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear members of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (npt) such as iran. threats of the use of nuclear weapons against another country constitute a violation of united nations security council resolution 984 and the international court of justice advisory opinion on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons.
nuclear program of iran