Iran criticizes NPT for failure to safeguard its nuclear programs

Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi criticized the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, or NPT, for failing to protect Iran's peaceful nuclear program, saying that Teheran may change its stance on NPT cooperation.

In an interview with Al-Araby Al-Jadeed on Wednesday, Araghchi said Iran has demonstrated its compliance with the NPT, but 20 years of transparency and trust-building regarding its peaceful nuclear program have not yielded positive results.

Iran may change its stance on its nuclear program and NPT cooperation, he said, though the minister noted that he could not predict the direction of this change.

Araghchi added that Iranians have made significant efforts to acquire peaceful nuclear technology, with some scientists losing their lives in pursuit of this goal. No one will stop Iran obtaining this technology, Araghchi said in the interview, according to Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

US involvement in the Israel-initiated conflict has proven Israeli officials wrong in their belief that Iran would succumb to pressure, as Iran responded forcefully with its third-generation missiles, he said.

Araghchi defended Iran's strategic attacks on US military and intelligence bases in the region as acts of self-defense, saying they should not be seen as violations of neighboring countries' sovereignty. He emphasized that Iran's ties with neighboring states, including Qatar, rest on historical bonds and social interactions.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said the government's position was that the attack had "nothing to do with Qatar", for which Iran has "high respect", but was rather "an exercise of our right of self-defense against American aggression".

The Iranian people have "suffered a lot" from the war but stood firmly against US and Israeli attacks, he told Al Jazeera.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi acknowledged on Wednesday that "no one can deny" Iran has nuclear technology and technical expertise, Mehr News Agency reported.

CUI HAIPEI in Dubai, UAE contributed to this report.