Iraq is looking to resume its nuclear program that was derailed by Israel in 1981 and again by US-led coalition forces at the outset of the 1991 Gulf War.
Iraq's minister of science and technology, Raid Fahmi, told British newspaper the Guardian that Baghdad has started lobbying the UN to lift restrictions on Iraq developing a nuclear program.
Fahmi insisted that the renewed nuclear program would be solely for peaceful purposes, such as health care, agriculture and water treatment.
The proposal is expected to raise objections from Israel due to the fact that while the current Iraqi regime may be docile enough, a future Iraqi dictator could quickly transform the program and build nuclear weapons.