A.Rafay
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VIENNA: Any attack on Irans nuclear facilities may lead to it withdrawing from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), a pact aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear arms, a senior Iranian official said on Friday.
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Irans ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, also suggested Iran in such a case could kick out IAEA inspectors and install its uranium enrichment centrifuges in more secure places.
His comments may strengthen concerns among many Western nuclear experts that military action against Iran aimed at preventing it from developing nuclear weapons may backfire and only drive its entire nuclear programme underground. There has been persistent speculation that Israel might bomb Iran, which it accuses of seeking a nuclear weapons capability. Iran denies the charge and says Israels assumed atomic arsenal is a threat to regional security. If attacked, there is a possibility that the (Iranian) parliament forces the government to stop the (UN nuclear) agency inspections or even in the worse scenario withdraw from the NPT, Soltanieh said in a statement in English submitted to a meeting of the IAEAs 35-nation Board of Governors.
Asked about Soltaniehs comments, Israels ambassador to the IAEA, Ehud Azoulay, said: I believe that they are going to do it anyhow, in the near future, so Im not surprised.
When they make their first nuclear explosion they will have to withdraw, I believe, he told reporters, adding he thought Iran was following the steps of North Korea.
North Korea was the first country to withdraw from the NPT, in 2003, and has denied IAEA access to its atomic sites. It carried out nuclear tests in 2006 and in 2009. Iran, one of the worlds largest oil producers, says its nuclear programme is a peaceful bid to generate electricity.
Like nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, Israel has never signed the NPT. It neither confirms nor denies having nuclear arms, although non-proliferation and security analysts believe it has several hundred nuclear weapons.
The Jewish state has said it would sign the treaty and renounce atomic weaponry only as part of a broader peace deal with Arab states and Iran that guaranteed its security. Under the 189-nation NPT, which came into force in 1970, non-nuclear weapons states commit to not develop such arms.
Israel and the United States see Iran as the worlds main nuclear proliferation danger. Iran and Arab states say Israels nuclear capabilities threaten regional peace and security. Soltanieh said nuclear weapons have no use and only creates vulnerability, and that any military action against Iran would not stop it from enriching uranium.
Refined uranium can have both civilian and military purposes, and a series of UN Security Council resolutions since 2006 have demanded that Iran suspend the activity, something the Islamic state has repeatedly ruled out.
Iran may quit
Ali Asghar Soltanieh, Irans ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, also suggested Iran in such a case could kick out IAEA inspectors and install its uranium enrichment centrifuges in more secure places.
His comments may strengthen concerns among many Western nuclear experts that military action against Iran aimed at preventing it from developing nuclear weapons may backfire and only drive its entire nuclear programme underground. There has been persistent speculation that Israel might bomb Iran, which it accuses of seeking a nuclear weapons capability. Iran denies the charge and says Israels assumed atomic arsenal is a threat to regional security. If attacked, there is a possibility that the (Iranian) parliament forces the government to stop the (UN nuclear) agency inspections or even in the worse scenario withdraw from the NPT, Soltanieh said in a statement in English submitted to a meeting of the IAEAs 35-nation Board of Governors.
Asked about Soltaniehs comments, Israels ambassador to the IAEA, Ehud Azoulay, said: I believe that they are going to do it anyhow, in the near future, so Im not surprised.
When they make their first nuclear explosion they will have to withdraw, I believe, he told reporters, adding he thought Iran was following the steps of North Korea.
North Korea was the first country to withdraw from the NPT, in 2003, and has denied IAEA access to its atomic sites. It carried out nuclear tests in 2006 and in 2009. Iran, one of the worlds largest oil producers, says its nuclear programme is a peaceful bid to generate electricity.
Like nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, Israel has never signed the NPT. It neither confirms nor denies having nuclear arms, although non-proliferation and security analysts believe it has several hundred nuclear weapons.
The Jewish state has said it would sign the treaty and renounce atomic weaponry only as part of a broader peace deal with Arab states and Iran that guaranteed its security. Under the 189-nation NPT, which came into force in 1970, non-nuclear weapons states commit to not develop such arms.
Israel and the United States see Iran as the worlds main nuclear proliferation danger. Iran and Arab states say Israels nuclear capabilities threaten regional peace and security. Soltanieh said nuclear weapons have no use and only creates vulnerability, and that any military action against Iran would not stop it from enriching uranium.
Refined uranium can have both civilian and military purposes, and a series of UN Security Council resolutions since 2006 have demanded that Iran suspend the activity, something the Islamic state has repeatedly ruled out.
Iran may quit
