Tehran, March 12 (Agencies): Iran could leave the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) if its nuclear rights are not accounted for, foreign minister Manouchehr Mottaki warned today.’
“If we reach a point where the existing mechanisms do not provide for the right of the Iranian people, then the policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran would be possibly revised and reconsidered,” Mottaki told reporters. “At the moment we believe that there is a chance for different sides to continue the negotiations.”
On Wednesday, the International Atomic Energy Agency sent an assessment report on Iran’s programme to the Security Council after a failed three-year-old probe to confirm the true nature of Iran’s activities.
The standoff has escalated in recent months, with Tehran insisting it will not stop the sensitive enrichment activities that the west suspects are cover for developing an atomic bomb.
Today, Iran said it was no longer considering the Russian compromise deal intended to overcome the dispute. Russia had proposed making nuclear fuel for Iran to ensure uranium was enriched only to the low level needed for power stations.
But Iran was unwilling to surrender its right to enrich uranium on its own soil.
Foreign ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Tehran was not considering reprising the Russian plan. “Now the situation has changed, the Russian proposal is not on the agenda,” he said.
His Russian counterpart Mikhail Kamynin was quoted by the RIA news agency saying Moscow would weigh up the Iranian remarks and consider its position.
Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the foreign affairs committee in Russia’s State Duma, was quoted by RIA saying Iran’s stance could “radicalise the nature of the United Nations Security Council discussion”.
But another news agency quoted a Russian source familiar with the talks saying Russia had withdrawn the proposal anyway.
“After the IAEA board meeting, Moscow informed Tehran there was no longer any point in the joint venture proposal,” Itar-Tass quoted the source as saying, referring to the UN watchdog.
