TEHRAN, March 30. /TASS/. Iran’s parliament is considering measures to withdraw the country from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Foreign Ministry Spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei stated.
"The issue of withdrawing from the NPT is being considered in parliament. What is the point of participating in the treaty if international players do not allow us to enjoy the benefits and rights provided for in it? The Islamic Republic of Iran has never sought and does not seek to develop nuclear weapons," the SNN TV channel quoted him as saying.
Earlier, lawmaker Alaeddin Boroujerdi stated that Iran’s participation in the NPT is no longer justified following US and Israeli aggression. According to him, Tehran should withdraw from it, and the majority of lawmakers support this view.
Iran began developing its nuclear program in the 1950s during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, with support from the US. In 1958, the country became a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); in 1968, Tehran signed the NPT and ratified it in 1970. After the overthrow of the Shah’s regime in 1979 and the proclamation of the Islamic Republic, the nuclear program was suspended until the authorities resumed developing nuclear technology in the late 1980s. Since 2003, a fatwa (religious ruling) issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has been in effect in Iran, prohibiting the development of nuclear weapons.