Iran says it could quit nuclear pact if case goes to UN
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DUBAI • Iran said yesterday that it could quit the global nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if European countries refer it to the United Nations Security Council over a nuclear agreement, a move that would overturn diplomacy in its confrontation with the West.
The NPT has been the foundation of global nuclear arms control since the Cold War, including a 2015 deal Iran signed with world powers that offered it access to global trade in return for accepting restrictions on its atomic programme.
Britain, France and Germany declared Iran in violation of the 2015 pact last week and have launched a dispute mechanism that could eventually see the matter referred back to the Security Council and the reimposition of UN sanctions.
"If the Europeans continue their improper behaviour or send Iran's file to the Security Council, we will withdraw from the NPT," Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif said, according to IRNA news agency.
The fate of the 2015 pact has been in doubt since President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of it and reimposed sanctions. Iran has responded by scaling back its commitments, although it says it wants the pact to survive.
The 190-member NPT bans signatories other than the US, Russia, China, Britain and France from acquiring nuclear weapons, in return for allowing them to pursue peaceful nuclear programmes for power generation, overseen by the UN.
The only nation ever to declare withdrawal from the NPT was North Korea.
REUTERS
