Iran will remain part of the Nuclear Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the country’s president said, despite the imminent threat of renewed United Nations sanctions and a push by some politicians for a more aggressive posture.
“We do not have the intention to leave the NPT,” Iranian president Masoud Pezeshkian told reporters at a hotel in midtown New York on Friday.
Mr Pezeshkian’s comments contrasted with those from July by a lead Iranian negotiator, who said the Islamic Republic hadn’t ruled out leaving the pact.
After European powers moved to reimpose nuclear sanctions on Iran that had been lifted as part of a 2015 nuclear deal with the US and other nations, diplomats feared Tehran would withdraw from the landmark international agreement aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons.
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Mr Pezeshkian’s assurance came as the UN Security Council was voting to reimpose broad sanctions on Iran. UN leaders rejected a bid to extend the deadline for sanctions to snap back into place, meaning that penalties lifted as part of the 2015 accord will go into effect on Saturday night New York time.
Mr Pezeshkian added that the decision to remain in the agreement couldn’t be swayed by other countries, in response to a question about the influence of China and Russia, who’ve supporting Tehran and advocated on its behalf at the UN.
On Saturday, Iran’s foreign ministry said it had recalled the country’s ambassadors to the UK, France, and Germany for “consultations” over what it called those nations’ “irresponsible” move to trigger the snapback mechanism.
The ministry stopped short of calling it a diplomatic break, but didn’t say when the envoys might return to their posts.
Iran has for years denied its nuclear program is for military purposes. However, even without leaving the NPT, the country’s leadership faces pressure from within Iran to change its stated objectives.
On Sunday, Iran’s parliament will debate a letter by its members calling for a change in the country’s stated policy of not pursuing nuclear weapons, raising the stakes in the diplomatic showdown over Tehran’s atomic work. – Bloomberg
