TEHRAN, Iran — A conservative Iranian legislator warned Saturday that his country might pull out of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty after a U.N. resolution censuring Iran — a move that could undermine world attempts to prevent Iran from developing atomic weapons.
Iran’s official news agency quoted a hardline political analyst who made the same point, another indication the idea could be gaining steam.
If Iran withdraws from the treaty, its nuclear program would no longer be subject to oversight by the U.N. nuclear agency. That in turn would be a significant blow to efforts to ensure that no enriched uranium is diverted from use as fuel to warhead development.
The lawmaker’s threat came a day after the board of the U.N.’s International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution demanding Iran immediately stop building its newly revealed nuclear facility near the holy city of Qom and freeze uranium enrichment.
“The parliament, in its first reaction to this illegal and politically motivated resolution, can consider the issue of withdrawing from the NPT,” Mohammad Karamirad was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency, referring to the treaty. “The parliament . . . (also) can block the entry of IAEA inspectors to the country.”
Karamirad, a senior lawmaker and member of the Iranian parliament’s national security committee, does not speak for the government, but his statements often reflect the government’s thinking.
Another hardline lawmaker, Hossein Ebrahimi, was quoted by IRNA as saying that Iran’s parliament will discuss the IAEA resolution today.
