TEHRAN, Jan 23 (NNN-TASNIM) – Iranian foreign minister, said yesterday that, any retaliatory measure, including a pullout of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), by Iran will be possible, if Europe does not change its anti-Tehran positions.
Hossein Amir-Abdollahian made the remark, in an interview with the official parliamentary news agency ICANA, in response to a question whether Iran’s withdrawal from the NPT and expulsion of the inspectors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would be among Tehran’s retaliatory measures, if the European Union (EU) blacklists the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) as a “terrorist organisation.”
The European Parliament on Thursday approved a resolution calling on the EU to designate the IRGC as a “terrorist group.”
Describing the European Parliament’s move as merely a “show,” Amir-Abdollahian said, according to remarks by his Swedish counterpart, Tobias Billstrom, whose country holds EU’s rotating presidency, the Westerners do not seek to implement the resolution.
He noted that, the EU foreign policy chief, Josep Borrell, also said in a Thursday phone call that, Europe does not seek to implement the resolution, which is merely a reflection of the emotions of part of the European Parliament’s members.
Iranian Parliament Speaker, Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf, yesterday vowed that, the legislative body will brand European countries’ armies that are present in the Middle East region as “terror groups and organisations” should Europe blacklist the IRGC.– NNN-TASNIM
