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Teheran reaffirms commitment to NPT

``The agency and other parties should not block roads to Islamic Republic of Iran and should solve the case in the framework of the regulations,'' Mr. Asefi said.

TEHERAN: Iran reaffirmed its commitment to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) on Tuesday, a day after its hard-line President issued a veiled threat to withdraw from the pact. Inspectors from the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency, meanwhile, began a mission to learn just what controls remain on nuclear sites and equipment after Teheran ended all but minimum cooperation.

Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi also urged a peaceful solution to the dispute over his country's nuclear programme.

``We are still committed to the provisions of the NPT. But we can't accept its use as a (political) instrument. We will cooperate in the treaty and the safeguards' framework,'' Mr. Asefi said at a weekly news conference.

On Saturday, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected U.S. and European pressure to resume a freeze the country's nuclear programme and hinted that Iran might withdraw from the treaty.

In Vienna, a diplomat said on Saturday that some International Atomic Energy Agency seals and cameras had been removed from Iranian nuclear sites within the last few days, suggesting that happened without IAEA supervision. But others familiar with the probe said they doubted the Iranians would make such a move before the arrival of the inspectors, which occurred over the weekend. The diplomats spoke on condition of anonymity because they weren't authorised to speak on the issue.

In a speech before tens of thousands of Iranians marking the 27th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Mr. Ahmadinejad spoke obliquely about pulling out of the NPT.

``The nuclear policy of the Islamic Republic so far has been peaceful. Until now, we have worked inside the agency (IAEA) and the NPT regulations,'' he said. — AP

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