Non-Proliferation Treaty

The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), opened for signature on 1 July 1968 and in force since 5 March 1970, rests on three pillars: non-nuclear states pledge not to acquire weapons; the five recognised nuclear powers (US, Russia, UK, France, China) commit to eventual disarmament; and all parties gain access to peaceful nuclear technology. With 191 states parties, it is the most widely subscribed arms control treaty in history. The IAEA administers safeguards under the treaty, using inspections and reporting requirements to verify compliance by non-nuclear states.

Iran filed priority legislation in March 2026 to withdraw from the NPT, introduced by Tehran MP Malek Shariati after Israeli strikes began on 28 February. If passed, Iran would become the second state to leave after North Korea (2003), all JCPOA restrictions would lapse, and Tehran proposed a replacement pact with SCO and BRICS members. Security commission spokesman Ebrahim Rezaei declared the treaty "has had no benefit for us." That bill remained pending while the Majlis voted 221-0 on 11 April 2026 to suspend all IAEA co-operation, making the nuclear programme completely dark without a formal NPT exit. Withdrawal requires only 90 days' notice and a declaration of supreme national interest.

Iranian exit would extinguish IAEA safeguards and remove all treaty-based constraints on uranium enrichment and plutonium production, leaving the Security Council without a binding enforcement mechanism short of Chapter VII action. Iran holds 440.9 kg of 60%-enriched uranium as of April 2026, enough for approximately ten nuclear weapons if further enriched, with no independent monitoring in place. A June 2026 US-Iran memorandum of understanding includes inspectors returning, but the IAEA had declared a loss of continuity of knowledge on 240 kg of the stockpile as of 15 June. An Iranian exit, even if ultimately averted, has already demonstrated that the treaty's credibility depends entirely on the willingness of its parties to comply.