President Mohammad Khatami said on Thursday that Iran would take appropriate action if the IAEA makes decisions under the influence of U.S. pressure.
Kiarashi told the Mehr News Agency that according to Article 10 of the IAEA Articles of Association, every country has the right to withdraw from the NPT, since the clause clearly states that if any country feels that its national interests or security is jeopardized by being a member of the NPT, it has the right to announce its decision three months before it actually withdraws from the treaty.
Legally, no country can prevent a country from withdrawing from the NPT, and therefore, if Iran decides to remove its signature from the treaty, neither the IAEA nor the United States or any other party can force Iran to remain in the NPT, he added.
Asked to comment on the remarks of a U.S. State Department official who warned Iran about withdrawing from the NPT, Kiarashi said exerting pressure on Iran from all sides has been one of the main principles of U.S. foreign policy since the victory of the Islamic Revolution and now this pressure is being applied through the IAEA.
Kiarashi noted that European states have cooperated with Washington in pressuring Iran, and the European Union big three (France, Germany and Britain) have not resisted the U.S. pressure on the IAEA about Iran’s nuclear program.
During a landmark visit to Tehran by the foreign ministers of the EU big three on October 21, 2003, Iran agreed to sign the additional protocol to the NPT and voluntarily suspend its uranium enrichment program and the EU countries agreed to recognize Iran’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and to help transfer nuclear technology to Iran.
MS/HG
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MNA