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Iran to quit Non-Proliferation Treaty if EU sends nuke deal issue to UNSC — top diplomat

On January 14, the foreign ministers of Germany, France and the United Kingdom announced the triggering of the Dispute Resolution Mechanism in the Iran nuclear deal, claiming that Iran had failed to implement its obligations
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif  AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif
© AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi, File

TEHRAN, January 20. /TASS/. Tehran will leave the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty if EU countries submit the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) issue to the United Nations Security Council, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday.

"If the Europeans submit the Iranian case to the Security Council, we will withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," he said, as cited by the Islamic Republic News Agency. According to Zarif, "the Europeans’ statements cannot be viewed as legal."

"If Europe remains committed to its obligations, we will return to compliance," Zarif went on to say. "However, if they [EU countries] continue playing political games that have no legal basis, we will have many options [to respond]," the Iranian top diplomat emphasized.

On January 14, the foreign ministers of Germany, France and the United Kingdom announced the triggering of the Dispute Resolution Mechanism in the Iran nuclear deal, claiming that Iran had failed to implement its obligations.

Tehran’s withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty would put an end to the nuclear deal.

The JCPOA was signed by Iran and six major powers (five member states of the United Nations Security Council — Russia, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and China — and Germany) in 2015. The future of the deal became unclear after the United States had pulled out of the JCPOA in May 2018, reintroducing sanctions on Tehran. Iran argues that other participants in the deal, the Europeans in the first place, keep ignoring their commitments, rendering the deal pointless. In May 2019, Iran began to gradually reduce its commitments to the JCPOA.