Iran, which recently agreed to allow snap inspections of its nuclear facilities, on Sunday hailed Libya's decision to scrap its weapons of mass destruction and called for pressure to be placed on Israel to do the same.
Libya, after negotiations with the United States and Britain, agreed on Friday to disclose the country's weapons of mass destruction and related programs and to open the country to international inspectors to oversee their elimination.
Iran, accused by Washington of secretly developing an atom bomb, welcomed Libya's decision as "positive."
"Iran welcomes any step taken by any country to dismantle weapons of mass destruction," Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi told a news conference.
U.S. President George W. Bush, who praised Libya for taking "essential steps" on the arms programs, in a clear reference to Iran and North Korea's disputed nuclear program said: "I hope that other leaders will find an example in Libya's announcement."
Iran, under mounting international pressure, on Thursday signed an Additional Protocol to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that allows the U.N. nuclear watchdog to conduct snap inspections.
Washington has labeled Iran part of an "axis of evil" and says it is using its atomic energy program as a cover to develop an atom bomb. Tehran denies it, saying its nuclear policy is entirely peaceful and devoted to generating power.
"Iran believes that the whole world should move along the path of destroying such weapons," Asefi said.
Asefi urged the international community to press harder on Israel to comply with international law on its alleged nuclear program.
"It is the time for the world to push for Israel's disarmament as the main threat to the region," he said.
Israel, Iran's arch-foe, is widely believed by security analysts to have dozens of nuclear warheads. It refuses to confirm possessing nuclear arms but has not signed the NPT.