Iran backs nuclear treaty even as hardliners raise prospect of bomb

Iran says it remains committed to the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons treaty, but hardliners are openly discussing abandoning it and developing nuclear weapons.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told reporters in Tehran on Monday that Iran has not suspended its NPT commitments, despite restricting cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency. He blamed US and Israeli attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities for limiting the country's engagement with the UN nuclear watchdog.

"Other parties have imposed conditions, namely the attacks by the US and Zionist regime against our nuclear facilities," Baghaei said. "As long as this situation continues, we cannot act like normal circumstances in our cooperation with the agency."

Iran has permitted new IAEA inspections at the Bushehr nuclear power plant, its only facility still accessible to the agency. The plant was not directly bombed during recent conflicts, though US warplanes damaged its perimeter.

Iran restricts access to sensitive nuclear sites including Natanz, Fordow and Isfahan. Ali Vaez, deputy director of the Middle East and North Africa programme at the International Crisis Group, said Tehran is "keeping one foot inside the NPT and the other near the exit."

Iran's security chief Mohsen Rezaei has publicly discussed leaving the treaty. Hossein Mohebbi, spokesman of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, said this week that the organisation "will create the necessary preparations" if Iran changes its nuclear doctrine. Under assassinated Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, nuclear weapons were officially forbidden.

Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian nuclear negotiator now at Princeton University, said Iran views inspection restrictions as a security concern rather than a rejection of NPT obligations. He noted that Iranians fear IAEA access to bombed sites could lead to intelligence sharing with the US and Israel for future attacks.

Regional mediators Qatar and Pakistan continue relaying messages between Iran and the US, though analysts warn escalation is likely in coming months.