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Iran Threatens to Withdraw From Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Boosts Uranium Enrichment After IAEA Censure
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian delivers a speech during the National Army Day parade ceremony in Tehran, Iran, April 18, 2025. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
Iran has threatened to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), an international accord meant to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, if European powers move to reinstate economic sanctions — a step Tehran condemned as “legally baseless and politically reckless,” warning it would endanger global security.
In a formal letter to the United Nations Security Council on Wednesday, Iran’s Ambassador to the UN, Saeed Iravani, reiterated Tehran’s warning that the country would take “proportionate responses” to what it described as escalating foreign pressure.
Iran’s threats come as the United Kingdom, France, and Germany — collectively known as the E3 — along with the United States, put forward a resolution condemning Tehran’s nuclear non-compliance at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Board of Governors meeting in Vienna this week.
Based on a recent IAEA report, the motion accuses Iran of failing to cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog over alleged “undeclared nuclear activities.” Originally scheduled for Wednesday, the vote was delayed until Thursday due to time constraints.
If adopted, the resolution could lead to the reimposition of UN sanctions by October. These sanctions were originally lifted under the now-defunct 2015 nuclear deal — known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) — which temporarily limited Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
The IAEA’s latest report also reveals that, alongside numerous other violations, Iran has previously conducted multiple implosion tests — a crucial military capability for developing an atomic bomb.
Iranian officials have rejected the IAEA’s findings as “politically motivated,” blaming Israel for providing the intelligence behind the claims, and accusing the agency of serving US interests in an effort to pressure Tehran during its negotiations with Washington to reach a nuclear deal.
“The Board of Governors’ resolution was mischievous,” Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said at a press conference on Thursday. “We will continue our path. Enrichment will go on, and we will not back down from the current trend.”
“Even if they bomb our facilities, our capabilities lie in our minds. Whatever they destroy, we will rebuild,” Pezeshkian continued.
After five rounds of talks between the US and Iran, diplomatic efforts have yet to yield results, as the Islamic regime and Washington clash over Tehran’s demand to maintain its domestic uranium enrichment program — a condition that US President Donald Trump has publicly rejected.
Earlier this week, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei announced that Iran will soon present its own nuclear proposal after rejecting a previous offer from Washington.
Although nuclear negotiations appear on the brink of collapse, a sixth round of talks is tentatively scheduled for Sunday in Oman. At the same time, Trump’s 60-day deadline for reaching a nuclear deal expired on Wednesday.
In response to the IAEA resolution, Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI), announced the establishment of a third uranium enrichment facility at a secure location, along with a major upgrade to Iran’s centrifuge systems — steps he said would significantly expand the country’s nuclear activities.
“They wrongly believe political pressure can force Iran to retreat from its rightful positions,” Kamalvandi said. “We had already warned that we would adjust our actions accordingly.”
Meanwhile, Major General Hossein Salami, chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) — a US-designated terrorist organization — declared that Tehran is fully prepared to confront any act of aggression amid growing threats of military action against the country.
“The enemy sometimes threatens us with military action. We have always said, and we say today, that we stand fully ready for any scenarios, situations, and circumstances,” Salami said.
Iran’s latest threats come as media reports reveal that the US has heightened security at its embassies and military bases across West Asia amid fears of a possible Israeli strike on Tehran.
Trump said on Thursday that an Israeli strike on Iranian nuclear sites “could very well happen,” but he would not call it imminent and said he prefers to avoid conflict with Iran and reach a peaceful solution over its nuclear program.
“I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump told reporters at a White House event, stressing that Iran could not be allowed to develop a nuclear weapon.
“I’d love to avoid the conflict,” he said. “Iran’s going to have to negotiate a little bit tougher, meaning they’re going to have to give us something they’re not willing to give us right now.”
Israel views Iran’s nuclear program, which many Western governments believe is ultimately meant to build nuclear weapons, as an existential threat.
Iranian leaders regularly declare their intention to destroy Israel. However, Tehran has claimed its nuclear activities are for peaceful, civilian purposes.
The post Iran Threatens to Withdraw From Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, Boosts Uranium Enrichment After IAEA Censure first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.