Iran renews its commitment to negotiate and insinuates the withdrawal from the NPT

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Monday that his country will withdraw from the NPT if the Iranian nuclear file is referred to the United Nations Security Council.

"If the Europeans continue their inappropriate behavior or refer Iran to the Security Council, we will withdraw from the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty," Zarif was quoted as saying by the Islamic Republic News Agency.

Tehran also confirmed that it had not "closed the door to negotiations" as part of efforts to resolve the dispute over the nuclear deal with world powers, which has escalated since the United States withdrew in 2018.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Moussaoui said - during a weekly press conference in the capital - that his country is still in the nuclear agreement ... and "the allegations of European powers regarding Iran's violation of the agreement are baseless ... and the door of negotiations has not been closed."

"Iran's continued reduction in its nuclear obligations depends on the other parties and on whether Iran's interests are guaranteed under the agreement," he added.

Iran has gradually reduced its obligations under the agreement concluded in 2015, which guaranteed it to lift sanctions in exchange for curbing its nuclear activities, after Washington withdrew from it and imposed severe sanctions on Tehran.

Britain, France and Germany, which are signatories to the agreement, activated the dispute settlement mechanism this month because of what it described as "Iranian violations".

Accusation and penalties
The activation of this mechanism stipulated in the agreement may lead to the formal accusation of the three European countries of Iran of violating its provisions, and thus may lead to the re-imposition of UN sanctions.

Yesterday, Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani threatened that if the European powers followed an "unjust approach" in using the dispute settlement mechanism, his country would seriously reconsider its cooperation with the IAEA.

It is reported that US President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the nuclear agreement with Iran in May 2018 and start a policy of "maximum pressure", stressing that he wants a new agreement that includes nuclear issues, Iran's ballistic missile program and its activities in the Middle East.

Britain said that the "Trump agreement" could replace the 2015 agreement. For its part, France called for expanded talks to end the crisis with the United States, which briefly developed into mutual military actions between Washington and Iran this month.