11-07-2025
Iran to attend Hiroshima and Nagasaki peace ceremonies
Iranian Ambassador to Japan Peiman Seadat announced on July 10 that he plans to attend the annual Hiroshima and Nagasaki peace memorial ceremonies in August held on the anniversaries of the atomic bombings.
That day, Seadat visited the photo exhibition 'Hiroshima 1945 Special Exhibition 80 Years after Atomic Bombing' at the Tokyo Photographic Art Museum put on by The Asahi Shimbun and other organizations.
He told reporters afterward that he had the opportunity to meet and talk with several atomic bomb survivors in June and July, and that he felt he must attend the ceremonies after seeing the photo exhibition as well.
Seadat then said he would participate in both ceremonies with strong determination.
This year, both cities plan to send notification letters and formal invitations to ambassadors from all countries and regions with diplomatic missions in Japan, which are listed on the Foreign Ministry's website.
This includes Russia and Belarus, which were previously excluded due to the war in Ukraine.
The decision to notify or invite Israel also is the result of the city of Nagasaki refraining from inviting Israel to last year's ceremony because of its continued attacks on Gaza. The move led to the United States and other countries declining to participate in the ceremony, which sparked controversy.
Seadat also mentioned the legislation passed by the Iranian parliament in response to recent U.S. military attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities. The law suspends Iran's cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Seadat clarified that the law is intended to be a temporary suspension of cooperation with the IAEA. He also said if there were guarantees that Iran's nuclear facilities would not be attacked by other countries during the IAEA's inspections, the country could resume cooperation with the agency.
Seadat then criticized U.S. President Donald Trump's remark that airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities were essentially the same as Hiroshima and Nagasaki in terms of ending a war.
He said the remark was unacceptable, adding that Iran's nuclear program has always been and will always remain peaceful and intended solely for civilian use.
