Iran says it may withdraw from nuclear treaty after Trump restores sanctions

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Sunday that Iran may withdraw from a nuclear treaty amid tightening U.S. sanctions.

“The Islamic Republic’s choices are numerous, and the country’s authorities are considering them … and leaving (nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty) is one of them,” Zarif was quoted as saying by a state broadcaster, according to Reuters.

{mosads}The Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) is an international treaty designed to slow the spread of nuclear weapons. 

The comments come amid heightening tensions between the U.S. and Tehran, with the Trump administration announcing earlier this month that it would not renew sanction waivers that allowed several foreign countries to purchase oil from Iran.

The Trump administration this month also labeled Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a “foreign terrorist organization.”

President Trump last year also withdrew the U.S. from the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, which lifted sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits on its nuclear program. Trump has since reimposed sanctions on the country.