The nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has "no validity" if
Iran's rights to carry out peaceful nuclear research were not
accepted, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Sunday.
"If the signature of a treaty threatens the rights of a nation,
it has no validity for that nation," Ahmadinejad told a gathering
of members of Iran's Basij militia, local media reported. Top
Iranian officials have expressed on several occasions that Iran
would reconsider its nuclear policy if its rights to nuclear
technology research were not accepted.
The hardline president made the remarks shortly after Iranian
foreign ministry spokesman Hamid-Reza Asefi said on Sunday that
Tehran "will not halt" its uranium enrichment and would reject any
resolution adopted by the UN Security Council on Iran's nuclear
issue.
Sunday's remarks by Iranian officials came as five permanent
members of the UN Security Council are discussing a draft
resolution presented by Britain and France, which would legally
require Iran to freeze all uranium enrichment and reprocessing
activities.
Iran has been reiterating that its uranium enrichment is aimed
at producing fuel for nuclear power plant, while the United States
accuses the Islamic republic of trying to make nuclear weapons.
(Xinhua News Agency May 8, 2006)
