Iran’s decision on NPT withdrawal depends on US behavior, top security official says

Tehran, Sep 20 (IANS) A senior Iranian security official said Iran has not yet decided whether to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), adding that any decision on the issue will depend on Washington’s behavior.

In an interview on Saturday, Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council Mohsen Rezaei said the country is still committed to a religious decree issued by its late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, which prohibits developing atomic weapons.

“However, we do not know what will happen in the future,” he noted, stressing that it is in Washington’s interest to accept Iran’s conditions for ending the war, which include ending hostilities on all fronts, releasing frozen Iranian assets, and lifting the anti-Iran naval blockade, Xinhua news agency reported.

He added that consultations with Qatari and Pakistani mediators are continuing, and Iran has informed them of its conditions for negotiations with the United States.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump will put Iran’s nuclear ambitions at the centre of his United Nations diplomacy next week, with talks planned with Gulf leaders and US officials warning of further consequences for entities doing business with Tehran.

Trump will address the UN General Assembly on Tuesday before meeting Gulf Cooperation Council leaders in New York. Officials said Iran would be a major subject of discussion, but did not confirm whether the president or other US representatives would meet Iranian officials.

On February 28, Israel and the United States launched joint attacks on Tehran and other Iranian cities. Iran responded with waves of missile and drone attacks targeting Israel and US bases and assets in the region, and tightened its grip on the Strait of Hormuz.

On June 18, the United States and Iran signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on ending the war in the region on all fronts. Under the MoU, they were scheduled to hold negotiations within a period of 60 days, which ended on August 17, to reach a final agreement, but the talks’ fate remains unclear following a series of recent escalations between the two countries.

–IANS

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