Iran on June 16 announced that the country’s parliament is drafting a bill to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The move marks a significant shift in Tehran’s nuclear policy as the country reels from the Israeli strikes.
The warning to withdraw from the pact also comes at a time when the United States is relocating B-2 bombers to Guam, a key US military outpost in the western Pacific.
The relocation of the US B-2 comes as Iran and Israel trade missiles that have hit military establishments and civilian areas in both countries. Reports suggest that President Donald Trump is also considering whether Washington will join Israeli military offensive against the Iran.
Decision To Withdraw From Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Comes Amid Israeli Strikes
Despite threatening to withdraw from the treaty, Iran’s Foreign Ministry stated that Iran remains opposed to the development of weapons of mass destruction.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian also reaffirmed the country’s plans to withdraw from the international treaty. He said that while Iran will not pursue nuclear weapons, it will continue to assert its right to nuclear energy and research. He reiterated Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s religious edict, which forbids the production or use of nuclear weapons.
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Over the last week, Iran and Israel have been exchanging missile strikes and bombing each other’s cities. Both the countries have defied international calls for de-escalation.
Israel has issued warnings to residents living near Iranian weapons facilities to evacuate. Similarly, Iran has given evacuation calls to Israeli residents before sending missiles into Tel Aviv and other cities.
What Is the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)?
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is a key international treaty designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons. While the treaty bars the countries from proliferating nuclear weapons, it promotes the peaceful use of nuclear energy. It was opened for signature on July 1, 1968, and came into force on March 5, 1970. The treaty was originally negotiated by the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Kingdom.
Under the NPT, states possessing nuclear weapons agree not to transfer nuclear weapons or assist nonnuclear-weapon states in developing them. In turn, nonnuclear-weapon states commit to not acquiring nuclear weapons. The treaty defines nuclear-weapon states as those that had manufactured and detonated a nuclear device before January 1, 1967 . Hence, according to the definition of the treaty, only US, U.K., France, China, and Russia are nuclear-weapon states.
The NPT also allows signatories access to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). IAEA is the UN’s nuclear watchdog.
What Happens If Iran Exits the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?
According to the article 10 of the NPT, the treaty allows a country to withdraw from the treaty with three months’ notice. The condition is that the country is determined that “extraordinary events… have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country.” Such a notice must be submitted to all treaty parties and the United Nations Security Council. The country has to provide an explanation of the reasons behind the withdrawal as well.
Iran has been a party to the NPT since 1970. However, for the first time in nearly two decades, the IAEA’s 35-member Board of Governors, which includes the P5 nations along with India, Bangladesh, Japan, and Ukraine, recently concluded that Iran has violated its obligations under the NPT.
The board in its resolution cited Iran’s “many failures to uphold its obligations since 2019 to provide the Agency with full and timely cooperation regarding undeclared nuclear material and activities at multiple undeclared locations.”
Without IAEA watch and its safeguards in place, Iran could secretly develop the nuclear weapons.
Iran has maintained that it is complying with its safeguards commitments.
Which Countries are Part of the Non-Proliferation Treaty?
NPT is one of the most widely observed arms control agreements in the world, with 191 members. However, four nuclear-armed countries, India, Pakistan, Israel, and North Korea, are not part of the treaty. Of these, India, Pakistan, Israel, and South Sudan never joined the agreement, whereas North Korea joined the treaty but withdrew in 2003.
