TEHRAN – Spokesman for the Iranian Foreign Ministry announced on Sunday that there are several options on the table, but based on the current situation, Tehran does not have any immediate plan to leave the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). 

Touching upon the Iranian Ambassador to London Hamid Baeidinejad’s remarks on the country’s possible withdrawal from the NPT, Mousavi said, “Baeidinejad presented a number of spectrums about the existing view in the country. I have also said that Iran currently does not have any decision for the issue (leaving the NPT).’

He further said, “The programs are scheduled, so we will take the next step according to the other side’s reaction. We must give enough opportunity for the future.”

In response to a question about French President Emmanuel Macron’s harsh stance towards Iran’s fourth step of reducing its undertakings under the 2015 nuclear deal, Mousavi said, “Macron’s stance is understandable. They, on one hand, witnessed Iran’s serious position, on the other hand, they had no justification of their own inabilities.”

“If they (Europeans) managed to implement the nuclear pact well, then we may talk about other issues, but they have trouble to do so let alone another issue, so such remarks (Macron’s ones) are not normal,” Mousavi went on to say. 

“Iran will not wait for efforts but it will respect the efforts,” the spokesman added. 

According to Fars, Baeidinejad on Sunday rejected a misinterpreted translation of his interview with a British daily, reiterating that his country has not made a decision about leaving the NPT.

Baeidinejad insisted that leaving the NPT would not benefit Iran even considering that Tehran has not enjoyed the benefits of an international agreement that has imposed restrictions on its peaceful nuclear program.

In a post on Twitter, the Iranian envoy to London said the failure to save the nuclear deal with global powers, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), would embolden those who want Tehran to end its commitment to the NPT.   

MJ/PA