Iran threatens withdrawal from nuclear treaty

    Iran's parliament threatened the nation's withdrawal from the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty if the United Nations pressures Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment.

    The UN security council, meanwhile, remains at odds on a resolution over Iran's nuclear program.

    In a letter to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, Iranian lawmakers said they would force the government to withdraw from the treaty if "the U.N. Secretary General and other members of the Security Council fail in their crucial responsibility to resolve differences peacefully."

    Under Article 10 of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty a nation can pull out of the treaty if it decides that an "extraordinary" event has jeopardized the interests of the nation. North Korea withdrew from the treaty in 2003 on that basis.

    The Security Council has been considering a resolution that demands Iran stop uranium enrichment. However, permanent members Russia and China disagree with the United States, Britain and France over how strong the resolution should be.

    The draft resolution, put together by Britain and France and the U.S., would oblige Iran to suspend its nuclear enrichment activities under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter. A resolution under Chapter 7 would be binding under international law and would permit sanctions and even war.

    China and Russia, which both have veto power in the Security Council, have argued there is no evidence that Tehran is seeking nuclear weapons.

    The foreign ministers of the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany -- are meeting in New York Monday.

    The U.S. ambassador to the UN, John Bolton, said he believed the resolution would be voted on next week, with or without support from Russia and China.

    Bolton dismissed Iran's threat of withdrawal from the non-proliferation treaty, saying it would not deter Western nations trying to push through the resolution.

    "This is a typical Iranian threat. It shows they remain desperate to conceal that their nuclear program is in fact a weapons program," he said. "I'm confident that these statements from Iran will not deter the sponsors of the draft resolution from proceeding in the Security Council."