Iranian Gov't Against Parliament's Bill To Suspend Implementation Of NPT Treaty - Reports

Iranian Gov't Against Parliament's Bill to Suspend Implementation of NPT Treaty - Reports

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 01st December, 2020) The Iranian government disagrees with the country parliament's bill that will suspend implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and boost nuclear activity following the recent assassination of Iranian nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, media reported, citing spokesman Ali Rabiee.

Earlier in the day, the Iranian legislature ratified draft of the bill that will halt implementation of the Additional Protocol of the Non-Proliferation Treaty Safeguards Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, which allows the global watchdog to inspect Iran's nuclear facilities. It also seeks to raise the country's uranium enrichment levels to more than 20 percent from the current level of over 4 percent, which is above the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) cap of 3.67 percent.

According to the Tasnim news agency, Rabiee said that the cabinet opposed the bill on the grounds that it would not help to lift the sanctions imposed on the country and would rather make them permanent.

The spokesman also conveyed the administration's position that the matter in question was under the jurisdiction of the Supreme National Security Council and no other authority had the power to make independent decisions on the matter.

Last week, Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, the head of the Iranian Defense Ministry's innovation center, was killed in an attack near the northern Iranian town of Absard, reportedly by a remote-controlled machine gun after leaving his armored car. The assassination came two days before the 10th anniversary of the death of another Iranian nuclear physicist, Majid Shahriari. Tehran said there were signs of Israel's involvement in the assassination.