Khondab Heavy Water Complex

The complex, located near Arak in central Iran, houses the IR-40 heavy-water reactor, which was partially redesigned under the 2015 JCPOA to reduce its capacity to produce weapons-grade plutonium. Construction began in the 1990s and the facility also produces heavy water for export. The IAEA has monitored the site under the nuclear deal's modified arrangements.

Iran's parliament filed priority legislation to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty, a move that would automatically revoke all JCPOA obligations governing the Khondab complex, including the mandatory redesign of its heavy-water reactor to limit plutonium output.

Khondab sits at the centre of the non-proliferation debate: even under the modified design, Western powers regard it as a dual-use asset capable of resuming plutonium production if political conditions change. An NPT exit would remove the legal architecture underpinning IAEA inspections and free Tehran to operate the reactor without international oversight, sharpening fears of a covert weapons path.