Page 7 - IRANRptMay19

2.4 Iran could quit Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: Zarif
Iran said on April 28 that it could quit the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) following another tightening of sanctions by the US.
This month has seen Washington blacklist Iran’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corp (IRGC) and demand that all buyers of Iranian oil stop taking shipments by May.
“The Islamic Republic’s choices are numerous, and the country’s authorities are considering them... and leaving NPT is one of them,” state broadcaster IRIB’s website quoted Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif as saying.
Iran signed the NPT in the 1970s when it was still ruled by the last Shah.
In May last year, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the 2015 nuclear deal which Tehran struck with six world powers—the US, Russia, China, Germany, the UK and France—to shield it from heavy sanctions in return for compliance with measures designed to stop it taking the path towards developing a nuclear weapon. His move came despite no presented evidence that Iran had breached the painstakingly negotiated accord.
Iran has also threatened to pull out of the 2015 deal unless European powers, who say they still support it, enable it to receive some clear economic benefits from staying in it.
“The Europeans have had a year but unfortunately they have not taken any practical measures,” Zarif told IRIB.
Iran might be interested in staying in the deal if it appears that Trump will not be re-elected in 2020 as there is a good chance that a winning Democrat opponent would take Washington back into the agreement, according to policy positions put forward by candidates to date.
Prior to his NPT comments, Zarif appeared on Trump’s preferred news network Fox. Analysts will examine the full interview for any signs of Tehran presenting an opening for talks with the US, but Iran has stubbornly refused to directly entertain any such possibility so far, urging Trump to apologise for and withdraw what it sees as illegal sanctions.
2.5 Iran’s lawmakers back bill requiring firm steps against “terrorist actions” by US forces
Iran’s parliament (Majlis) passed a bill on April 23 requiring the government to take firm steps in response to “terrorist actions” by US forces, state TV reported. The move was a retaliation against Washington’s unprecedented blacklisting of the country’s elite Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organisation (FTO).
7 IRAN Country Report May 2019 www.intellinews.com