Tehran: Iran will not pull out of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and will continue to allow tough inspections by the UN nuclear watchdog, the Islamic republic's top national security official said today (June 19, 2004).

"The Islamic Republic of Iran will respect the NPT agreement and will not withdraw from it, and will work within the framework of the safeguards and will continue to implement the additional protocol," Hassan Rowhani told a news conference.

He was speaking one day after the International Atomic Energy Agency adopted a tough resolution that rebuked Iran for failing to come clean about its nuclear programme.