Iran will further scale back its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal if other parties to the pact fail to fulfil their obligations, the Iranian foreign ministry said.
"Iran will stop implementing the IAEA additional protocol if the other participants of the Iran nuclear deal fail to uphold their commitments under the document by February 21," spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh told the state news agency on Monday.
"We have no option but to respect the law. It does not mean ending all inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog,” he said, referring to an Iranian law that obliges the government to harden its nuclear stance.
On February 21, the law obliges the government to end the sweeping inspection powers given to the UN nuclear watchdog by the 2015 deal and limit inspections to declared nuclear sites only.
The additional protocol significantly increases the IAEA's ability to verify the peaceful use of all nuclear material in Iran with comprehensive safeguard agreements.
Mr Khatibzadeh's briefing came a week after intelligence minister, Mahmoud Alavi said it would not be Tehran's fault if the country was ever "pushed" towards developing a nuclear bomb. Mr Khatibzadeh said Iran's stance had not changed and that Iran's nuclear activities have always been peaceful and will remain peaceful.
"A fatwa by the Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyad Ali Khamenei that prohibited the use of weapons of mass destruction is still in place," he said.
