TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Thursday reiterated Iran's "longstanding" and "clear" commitment to global nuclear non-proliferation.
"Iran signed, in 1968, the NPT (the Non-Proliferation Treaty) as a founding member. Iran's Supreme Leader (Ali Khamenei) has issued a religious edict outlawing all WMDs (weapons of mass destruction)," Araghchi wrote on social media platform X.
Iran signed a nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), in 2015, which "imposed the most intrusive inspection regime in IAEA history" and which stated "Iran reaffirms that under no circumstances will Iran ever seek, develop or acquire any nuclear weapons," he wrote.
"This is a permanent and clear commitment which Iran has remained committed to -- even after the US unilaterally withdrew from the deal in 2018," he wrote.
Araghchi's remarks came as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said Wednesday at the World Economic Forum in Davos that he hopes "the Iranians understand that it is important to once and for all make it clear that they will renounce to have nuclear weapons".
Iran signed the JCPOA with world powers in July 2015, agreeing to put some curbs on its nuclear program in return for the removal of sanctions. The United States, however, pulled out of the deal in May 2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to scale back its commitments under the deal.
The talks to revive the JCPOA began in April 2021 in Vienna, Austria. Despite several rounds of talks, no significant breakthrough has been achieved.