MPs may urge Iran to review NPT membership

TEHRAN, May 7: Iran's parliament will ask the government to review its nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) membership if the United Nations passes a resolution obliging Iran to suspend uranium enrichment, MPs today said.

Such a move would give legislative backing to earlier threats by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has said since February Iran would review its NPT membership if Iran felt unfairly treated over its nuclear programme.

Iran has rejected calls to scrap enrichment which it says is a national right but which the West says is a smokescreen for a clandestine weapons programme.

The United States, Britain and France are backing a draft UN Security Council resolution that compels Iran to suspend enrichment activities under Chapter 7 of the UN Charter.

The resolution, to be discussed by diplomats in New York tomorrow, does not call for any other action if Iran does not comply, but the United States has made clear that sanctions would be the next step.

Russia and China, which also have veto powers on the Security Council, oppose invoking Chapter 7, which would allow for sanctions and even war if Iran did not respond, although separate resolutions would be needed for either of those steps.

More than 160 MPs, a majority of the 290-seat parliament, said in a statement that if the United Nations invoked Chapter 7 parliament would call on Iran to consider quitting the NPT.

''The parliament will have no choice but to ask the government to withdraw its signature from the Additional Protocol and put on its agenda a review of Article 10 of the NPT (on withdrawal rocedures),'' the statement said.

Iran has already downgraded its cooperation with UN nuclear inspectors after ceasing to implement the Additional Protocol to the Non-Proliferation Treaty which allowed snap inspections of nuclear facilities.

France and Britain said after more council talks yesterday that they hoped for a vote next week.

Many of the council's 15 members left the discussions acknowledging it would take a miracle to agree on a text before tomorrow's arrival in New York of foreign ministers of the council's five permanent members plus Germany.

REUTERS