A senior official in the Islamic Republic cautioned that his government might withdraw from the 1968 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if sanctions related to Tehran's obligations under the 2015 Joint Plan of Action nuclear settlement are reimposed.
“In case of a snapback reinstatement, one of the options we proposed was withdrawing from the NPT, we could leave the treaty,” Deputy Foreign Minister Majid Takht-Ravanchi was quoted as saying by a regime spokesperson on Tuesday.
This warning follows Takht-Ravanchi's recent involvement at a meeting in Geneva with negotiators from France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. The discussions centered on last month’s approval of a censure resolution by the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Board of Governors, which accused the theocracy of consistently failing to cooperate with United Nations nuclear inspectors.
The reprimand set the stage for the IAEA to escalate the consequences of the regime's noncompliance by introducing potential measures that could further destabilize the country's already fragile economy.
Under current agreements, Tehran is permitted to enrich uranium up to 3.67 percent purity, an amount experts argue is sufficient for most civilian uses. However, IAEA investigators have reported discovering samples as high as 84 percent during their monitoring visits. This development has raised concerns that the true goal of the Islamic Republic’s atomic research program is likely aimed at weaponization.
Related Story: United Nations Agency Censures Iran Regime for Failing to Cooperate with Nuclear Inspectors
