Government Spokesman Says Iran to Stay With NPT

Text of report in English by Iranian news agency IRNA website

Tehran, 6 February: Government spokesman Gholamhoseyn Elham here Monday [6 February] stressed the peaceful and transparent nature of Iran’s nuclear activities and said Tehran does not intend to leave the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

He told reporters that the door for negotiations was still open and there were no obstacles to the continuation of talks.

Stressing the international call for nuclear disarmament, he said that the Islamic Republic “favours non-discriminatory and comprehensive nuclear disarmament.”

Criticizing the discriminatory attitude of certain nuclear countries towards the nuclear activities of others, he said that “there are a number of countries which possess atomic weapons who wish to deprive others of the legitimate and indisputable right to access nuclear technology for peaceful uses.”

“The rights of all countries (to nuclear energy) should be determined within the context of international law, rules and relations and no country should have preference over another or be subjected to double standards.”

The government spokesman once again invited countries to participate in Iran’s nuclear programmes, and assured that Iran would give “due respect to their individual national interests.”