Iran's withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) would be the most negative development for the global nonproliferation regime, while the entire responsibility for this move would rest with the United States, senior Russian lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev told Sputnik, commenting on the relevant warning from Tehran
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 09th November, 2019) Iran's withdrawal from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) would be the most negative development for the global nonproliferation regime, while the entire responsibility for this move would rest with the United States, senior Russian lawmaker Konstantin Kosachev told Sputnik, commenting on the relevant warning from Tehran.Earlier in the week, Iranian Ambassador in London Hamid Baeidinejad did not rule out that Tehran might abandon the NPT if its steps toward reducing obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal yielded no results.
"I still hope that the statement by the Iranian ambassador is another diplomatic move that raises the stakes in the game, rather than a final decision made by Tehran. Iran's exit from the NPT would be a worst-case scenario and a defeat for the non-proliferation regime as a whole, not just for JCPOA members; despite the fact that the full responsibility for this defeat would lie with Washington," Kosachev, the chairman of the Russian upper house's foreign affairs committee, said.
The lawmaker recalled that under the NPT, non-nuclear-weapon states pledge not to acquire nuclear weapons in exchange for cooperation with the five nuclear powers in peaceful use of nuclear energy. The United States, he says, denies Tehran the right to peaceful nuclear activities, which makes the latter question the need to adhere to the NPT.
"If the United States, as a nuclear power, consistently denies Iran the right to civilian nuclear programs - certified and verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency - and tries to block them through sanctions, it is difficult to expect from Iran an endless commitment to its own obligations under the NPT," he concluded.
Tehran began gradually reducing its nuclear obligations on the first anniversary of the US unilateral pullout from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal on May 8. Iran has repeatedly stressed its readiness to reverse these steps if European signatories to the deal ensure the country's interests, first of all those economic, amid Washington's reinstated sanctions.
