[JURIST] After Iranian lawmakers on Sunday sent a letter [JURIST report] to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan threatening to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) [PDF text] if Annan and other members of the UN Security Council [official website] failed "in their crucial responsibility to resolve differences peacefully" with regard to Iran's nuclear program, Iranian negotiator Ali Larijani said Tuesday that Iran's government would adhere to the treaty and added that cooperation would be more forthcoming if the International Atomic Energy Agency [official website] was given the power to oversee Iran's nuclear program instead of the UN Security Council. This is not the first time that Iranian authorities have apparently seesawed on their treaty intentions; in February an Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman confirmed the country's ongoing commitment {JURIST report] to the NPT after Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad publicly suggested he might walk away from the treaty [JURIST report].

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [official website; BBC profile] has repeatedly insisted that Iran has a legal right to pursue its nuclear program [JURIST report] and has condemned efforts by the US, France and Britain to pass a draft Security Council resolution [JURIST report] that could lead to the use of military force or sanctions. Russia and China, both permanent members of the Council with veto power, have already dismissed the draft, citing lack of evidence that Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons. AP has more.