DUBAI, June 16. /TASS/. Tehran no longer sees a reason to continue honoring its voluntary commitments under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) given that other members are not adhering to the treaty, Iran’s permanent representative to international organizations in Vienna, Reza Najafi, stated.
"If the rights and obligations of NPT member states are not observed equally, and certain aggressor regimes that are not parties to the treaty are allowed to act with impunity against its signatories, then honoring these voluntary commitments is senseless," Najafi said during an extraordinary session of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors, as quoted by IRNA.
According to Najafi, "over the past decades, despite the prejudice of some parties and the Israeli regime's continuation of illegal nuclear activities outside the NPT framework, the Islamic Republic of Iran has always adhered to its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the IAEA Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, and provided the agency with extensive and accurate information about its peaceful nuclear activities." "However, this transparency has become, unfortunately, in some cases, a tool used to [carry out] threats to national security and the lives of Iranian scientists," the diplomat added.
On June 15, Iranian MP Ruhollah Izadkhah said that the country's parliament was considering the republic's withdrawal from the NPT due to Israeli strikes on its nuclear facilities. On June 16, Mehr quoted parliamentary representatives as saying that the issue was not on the agenda.
Iran joined the NPT immediately after it was signed in 1968. In 1974, Tehran signed the NPT Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, authorizing the agency to carry out inspections to verify the peaceful use of nuclear facilities. In 2003, the republic signed the Additional Protocol to the treaty, but did not ratify it, which gave the IAEA extra powers to verify Iran's compliance with its obligations.
Overnight into June 13, Israel kicked off Operation Rising Lion aimed against Iran’s nuclear program. The Israel Defense Forces said that 200 fighter jets attacked more than 100 targets in Iran, including nuclear facilities.
On the evening of June 13, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps announced that Iran retaliated by attacking dozens of targets in Israel with missiles, including military facilities and air bases, striking, in particular, the Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv. Israel said some targets were hit but most of the missiles were intercepted.