TEHRAN \u2013 Iran\u2019s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ali Mousavi, issued a stern warning during a heated session of the British Parliament\u2019s Foreign Affairs Committee on June 17, emphasizing that Iran is a legitimate sovereign state, and declaring that Tehran reserves the right to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) under Article 10 if its vital national interests are jeopardized.<\/p>\n
The session focused on regional escalation, Iran\u2019s nuclear activities, and diplomatic paths forward. Mousavi pushed back forcefully against the \u201chostile rhetoric, biased narratives, and double standards\u201d from Western officials.<\/p>\n
Asked about speculation that Iran may exit the NPT, Mousavi said such decisions fall under the authority of Iran\u2019s independent parliament.<\/p>\n
\u201cAccording to Article 10, if a signatory\u2019s vital interests are threatened, withdrawal is a legal option. There\u2019s no ambiguity,\u201d he said, holding up photos of Iranians killed in recent Israeli attacks. \u201cWe are accountable to these people.\u201d<\/p>\n
He reiterated that Iran remains in the NPT for now, and that its religious doctrine and defense policy prohibit the development or use of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear arms\u2014citing a binding fatwa issued by the Leader of the Islamic Revolution.<\/p>\n
Emily Thornberry, Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee, later shared parts of Mousavi\u2019s remarks on social media platform X, stressing the need to return to diplomacy.<\/p>\n
\u2018Israeli attack violated international law\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n Mousavi began his remarks by condemning Israel\u2019s recent military strike on Iranian territory as a \u201cblatant violation of the UN Charter and international law,\u201d calling the action a serious threat to global security.<\/p>\n He described the strike as a \u201cterrorist and criminal act\u201d that crossed every red line, particularly by targeting a civilian nuclear facility operating under full IAEA supervision.<\/p>\n Rejecting Israel\u2019s claims of \u201ctargeted precision,\u201d Mousavi said the strikes hit civilian infrastructure, homes, hospitals, and oil refineries.<\/p>\n \u201cMore than 220 civilians, including women and children, were martyred, and nearly 1,500 others injured,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He condemned the direct attack on Iran\u2019s national broadcaster during a live broadcast as a \u201cdeliberate war crime\u201d and \u201can attempt to silence the voice of truth,\u201d accusing Israel of being \u201cthe greatest enemy of media freedom.\u201d<\/p>\n Mousavi also criticized the United States, accusing Washington of direct complicity through its military, intelligence, and political support for Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cThe U.S. must be held legally accountable. Any country aiding Israel in this aggression is also responsible under international law,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n The ambassador noted that the Israeli assault came just days before scheduled indirect talks with the U.S. in Oman.<\/p>\n \u201cIran came to the table with a constructive proposal, but the U.S., by backing Israel\u2019s attack, derailed the diplomatic process,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n He reiterated that Iran\u2019s missile response was defensive, proportionate, and lawful under Article 51 of the UN Charter, stressing that Iran did not target civilians.<\/p>\n Mousavi expressed frustration with the UN Security Council\u2019s failure to condemn the attack, saying its silence had weakened its credibility. He urged the UN and independent states to take concrete steps to halt Israel\u2019s aggression.<\/p>\n Asked whether Iran planned to escalate tensions or close the Strait of Hormuz, Mousavi replied, \u201cIran\u2019s consistent priority has been diplomacy. We’ve repeatedly said regional issues must be resolved through dialogue. But talks are meaningless while Israel continues bombing Iranian infrastructure and civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"TEHRAN \u2013 Iran\u2019s Ambassador to the United Kingdom, Ali Mousavi, issued a stern warning during a heated session…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":222999,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,4],"tags":[88014,748,393,4884,774,1144,88015,712,16,15,1764],"class_list":{"0":"post-222998","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-uk","8":"category-united-kingdom","9":"tag-ali-mousavi","10":"tag-britain","11":"tag-england","12":"tag-great-britain","13":"tag-iran","14":"tag-northern-ireland","15":"tag-npt","16":"tag-scotland","17":"tag-uk","18":"tag-united-kingdom","19":"tag-wales"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/114764600332584098","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=222998"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/222998\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/222999"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=222998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=222998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=222998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}