Iran Will Reconsider Membership In Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

Russian President Vladimir Putin when meeting Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi some time ago/PHOTO via Instagram @russian_kremlin

JAKARTA - Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi proposed reconsidering Tehran's membership in an important agreement aimed at preventing the deployment of nuclear weapons following the US and Israeli attacks on its nuclear facilities.

"The attack on our nuclear facilities will certainly have a serious and deep impact on Iran's future direction," Abbas Araghchi told Qatar Al Araby Al Jadeed news agency reported by CNN, Wednesday, June 25.

Iran is a member of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), an agreement designed to monitor and prevent the global deployment of nuclear weapons and promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology.

Every signing of a nuclear armsless agreement is prohibited from seeking the weapon.

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN nuclear watchdog monitoring compliance with the NPT, has issued reports in recent months saying Iran failed to provide answers to questions about its nuclear program.

Although the Islamic Republic insists its program is peaceful, the country is starting to enrich uranium to its close to weapons levels after US President Donald Trump withdrew in his first term of a contract signed in 2015 between Tehran and international powers including the US.

Last weekend, Trump ordered an attack on Iran's nuclear program which he said had destroyed the program even though a leaked Pentagon report said the attack would likely only hamper him by a few months.

"We have been working for years to show the world that we are committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and are willing to work within its framework, but unfortunately, this agreement has not been able to protect us or our nuclear program," Aragghchi said.

Iran's top diplomat said it was too early to discuss how Iran would react.

But Abbas said he would "shadow" Iran's view of the nuclear program and the non-proliferation regime would experience a change, whose direction could not yet be drawn.