TEHRAN, Iran

Amid the revival of tensions between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), hardliners in Tehran are demanding that the country should walk away from the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Iran had signed the NPT in 1968, with several nuclear and non-nuclear powers, agreeing not to transfer nuclear weapons or technology to other states, and non-nuclear parties agreed not to develop or acquire nuclear weapons.

On eve of the anniversary of the signing of NPT, which is being observed on Friday, Abolfazl Amouei, a senior lawmaker and former spokesman for parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee told Anadolu Agency that Israel was "influencing" the agency's decision-making.

He said Tel Aviv has not signed the NPT and not allowed IAEA inspectors at its nuclear facilities "but invites the (agency) chief to the occupied territories to intervene in the process of cooperation between Iran and the IAEA.”

Complaining that Iran has remained the "top destination worldwide" of the UN agency's inspectors, he said the country had "voluntarily allowed the agency" to carry out inspections at its nuclear sites.

"The recent anti-Iran resolution at the IAEA’s Board of Governors meeting did not reflect this cooperation between Iran and the agency," the lawmaker said.

The senior lawmaker described Iran's nuclear program as "completely peaceful" and said there were "no plans to withdraw from the NPT."

But many voices are urging the government of President Ebrahim Raisi to reduce its technical cooperation with the Vienna-based agency and even to walk away from the NPT as a mark of protest over Western "double standards”.

An editorial last month in Kayhan, a leading Persian-language newspaper, cited the stalemate in nuclear deal talks, pressures on Iran, US indecision on lifting sanctions, and recent IAEA reports as reasons for the country to quit the NPT.

Fresh tensions

The fresh tensions have escalated after an anti-Iran resolution at the IAEA Board of Governors Meeting recently.

The resolution, drafted by the US and its European allies -- the UK, Germany, and France -- called on Tehran to fully cooperate with the IAEA and give the agency’s inspectors access to three "undeclared sites”.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh termed it a "miscalculated and ill-advised" move and warned of a "firm and proportionate" response.

The IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi's whirlwind visit to Tel Aviv ahead of the agency's Board of Governors meeting has stoked anger in Tehran.

"The surprise visit was bound to stir up a controversy, given the fact that Israel is opposed to the revival of the nuclear deal and any sanctions relief for Iran," strategic affairs analyst Hamid Parsa told Anadolu Agency.

He said the decision to ramp up uranium enrichment from the current 60% to 90% needed for a nuclear weapon was "unlikely.”

Hours before the resolution was adopted on June 8, Iran announced that it was switching off the UN agency’s surveillance cameras that functioned outside the purview of the NPT safeguards agreement.

The trigger was the IAEA's quarterly report issued on May 30, which indicted Iran over non-compliance with the NPT safeguards agreement, saying the country had not provided explanations "that are technically credible" about three undeclared nuclear sites.

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), Mohammad Eslami, alleged that the UN agency has been "taken hostage" by Israel and that the IAEA reports on Iran were based on information provided by Israel’s spy agency.

IAEA report

The last quarterly IAEA report in November 2021, which noted a "significant increase in Iran's stockpile of highly enriched uranium," was also dismissed by Tehran as "hasty and politically-motivated.”

In February 2021, in line with a "strategic plan of action" approved by parliament, Iran took unprecedented measures in scaling back its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, --including suspending the additional protocol to the NPT, which limited access to IAEA inspectors to the country's nuclear sites.

The move came in response to the assassination of Iran's top nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh on Nov. 27, 2020, which Iran blamed on Israel.

"The suspension of the NPT Additional Protocol and subsequent measures taken by Iran, including ramping up uranium enrichment up to 60%, created a trust deficit between Iran and the UN agency that has only grown bigger," Parsa told Anadolu Agency.

He said while the option of withdrawing from the NPT "always remains on the table" but hastened to add that authorities in Tehran know the move can "prove counter-productive.”

According to Amouei, the move to turn off IAEA surveillance cameras "has nothing to do" with NPT, maintaining that Iran does not plan to leave the treaty but expects the UN nuclear watchdog to be more receptive to Iran's demands and concerns.

Meanwhile, with indirect talks resuming in Doha between Iran and the US to revive the 2015 deal, mediated by the EU, hopes of a de-escalation in tensions between Iran and the IAEA have also been rekindled.

Iran had started the development of nuclear technology in 1970 with the support of the US under King Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. But it fell into disarray after Ayatollah Khomeini-led revolution deposed Pahlavi.

According to experts, Iran restarted the nuclear program in the late 1980s, which became the source of further friction between the West and Tehran.

In 2015, after several rounds of negotiations, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- China, France, Russia, UK, US, and Germany together with the European Union.

Under the JCPOA, Iran agreed to eliminate its stockpile of medium-enriched uranium, cut its stockpile of low-enriched uranium by 98%, and reduce by about two-thirds the number of its gas centrifuges for 13 years.

But in 2018, US President Donald Trump announced withdrawal from JCPOA.

In response, Iran began to scale back its commitments under the deal, ramping up uranium enrichment beyond the 3.65 percent level stipulated in the deal, accompanied by other measures as well.

In 2020, after Iranian officials expressed willingness to revive the agreement, provided the US makes assurances regarding lifting sanctions and also rejoining the deal.

The efforts to salvage the landmark deal have been underway since then, with breakthroughs eluding so far.