Annan Seeks Iranian Restraint, U.S.-Russian Nuclear Cutbacks

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http://ap.tbo.com/ap/breaking/MGBJ27BT88E.html

UNITED NATIONS (AP) - At a time of growing nuclear tensions in the world, U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on Monday urged nonweapons states like Iran to step back from the nuclear temptation, and America and Russia to cut back more sharply on their arsenals.

All must work toward "a world of reduced nuclear threat and, ultimately, a world free of nuclear weapons," the U.N. secretary-general said as he opened a monthlong conference reviewing how well the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) is keeping the lid on man's most terrible weapons.

The delegations from almost 190 governments have gathered at a moment of mounting nuclear fears and mistrust.

North Korea, which declared its withdrawal from the treaty in 2003 and claims to have built nuclear bombs, said this weekend it was giving up negotiating over its weapons program with a George W. Bush-led United States. It was another blow to the suspended six-party talks aimed at bringing Pyongyang back into the NPT.