Iran’s United Nations Ambassador has called nuclear weapons the greatest threat to present and future generations, before Tehran resumes talks with six world powers aimed at reining in its suspect nuclear programme in Geneva, Switzerland.

Mohammad Khazaee told a meeting of the UN General Assembly’s disarmament committee that “the total elimination of these inhuman weapons is the only absolute guarantee against their threat or use”.

Before they consume us all together, we must consume them all together

The election of President Hassan Rouhani, viewed as a moderate, has led to a revival of talks tomorrow and Friday, aimed at allaying Western fears that the real aim of Iran’s nuclear enrichment programme is producing nuclear weapons, not nuclear energy and medical isotopes as it claims.

For years, Iran has insisted that its nuclear programme is purely peaceful, and that it opposes nuclear weapons, but Khazaee’s comments were especially strong.

“Before they consume us all together, we must consume them all together,” he said.

“This is not an option but a must. This is both our right and responsibility.”

Khazaee told the committee “we need to invest further political will to achieve a nuclear weapon-free world at the earliest date”.

The committee adopted a number of resolutions, including a Japanese-sponsored measure on “united action towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons,” which strongly condemned North Korea’s nuclear test in February and called for further efforts by nuclear states to reduce and ultimately eliminate all types of nuclear weapons.

It urges all countries to sign the nuclear test ban treaty, encourages the establishment of new nuclear-weapon-free zones and calls on North Korea to abandon all nuclear weapons and expresses concern at its uranium enrichment and light water reactor construction.

The resolution was approved by the disarmament committee by a vote of 164-1 with 14 abstentions. North Korea voted no while Iran, Israel, Syria, Russia, China, Brazil and India were among those who abstained. It is virtually certain that the resolution will receive final approval by the 193-member General Assembly at a December meeting.

Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are not legally binding, but they reflect world opinion and carry moral weight. A North Korean diplomat said his country believed there should be total elimination of nuclear weapons and supported denuclearisation of the Korean peninsula – but stressed that any actions must be simultaneous and the North “will therefore not unilaterally move first”.

The diplomat said North Korea was developing nuclear weapons “for the purpose of deterring the US attack and defending its sovereignty”.