Iran’s powerful Assembly of Experts has openly called for the regime to examine withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and rewrite its defense doctrine, declaring the moves an “unavoidable necessity” and “a public and national demand.”
The clerical body, which elects and supervises the Supreme Leader, issued the statement Thursday amid ongoing tensions following U.S. and Israeli strikes that targeted Iranian nuclear infrastructure.
According to Iranian state broadcaster Press TV, the Assembly warned that “the repeated threats of the aggressor enemy, especially the threats against the country’s nuclear knowledge, indicate that no hope can be placed in the international bodies responsible in this field.”
It urged officials to act under the guidance of the current Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei (who succeeded his father Ali Khamenei after the latter’s death in earlier strikes). The body also threatened that any fresh attack would face an “immediate, effective and geographically unlimited response” by Iranian forces.
Separately, an Assembly member stated that Iran’s duty is “to obtain anything that strikes fear into the enemy, and today atomic weapons to deter it.”
Considering Iran’s withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and revising the country’s defense doctrine have become an inevitable necessity, according to a statement issued by the Assembly of Experts, the body responsible for electing Iran’s supreme leader.
“Repeated threats from the aggressor enemy, particularly threats against the country’s nuclear knowledge, demonstrate that hopes cannot be placed in responsible international institutions in this field. Therefore, considering withdrawal from the NPT, revising the country’s defense doctrine and establishing the necessary deterrence have become an inevitable necessity and turned into a nationwide demand,” the statement said.
The Assembly called on officials not to back down even one inch from the demands and rights of the Iranian people, noting that concessions would not make the United States abandon its hostility. The document also proposed establishing a military economy headquarters involving different branches of government under the supreme oversight of the Supreme Leader’s office. It stated that, in the event of another attack, the enemy would receive an immediate response with no geographical restrictions.
On November 9, Majles (Iran’s unicameral parliament) member Mojtaba Zolnouri said that nine bills on Iran’s withdrawal from the NPT were on the parliamentary agenda.
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