What is the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?
An IAEA flag flutters in front of the agency's headquarters in Vienna, Austria, June 16, 2025. REUTERS/Elisabeth Mandl
Iran said on Monday its parliament was preparing a bill that could push the Islamic Republic towards exiting the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Israel began military strikes on Iran on June 13, citing concerns over its nuclear programme, one day after the U.N. nuclear watchdog's Board of Governors declared Tehran in breach of its obligations under the NPT.
Iran, which denies trying to develop nuclear arms, has fired missiles at Israel in retaliation for Israel's strikes.
Below are some key facts about the treaty.
PURPOSE OF THE NPT
The objective of the treaty, which took effect in 1970, is to halt the spread of nuclear weapons-making capability, guarantee the right of all members to develop nuclear energy for peaceful ends and - for the original five nuclear weapons powers - to phase out their arsenals.
The treaty defines nuclear-armed states as those that 'manufactured and exploded a nuclear weapon or other nuclear device prior to January 1, 1967. They are the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia, which assumed rights and obligations from the former Soviet Union. Those five nations are the permanent members of the U.N. Security Council.
SIGNATORIES
A total of 191 countries are party to the NPT. Nuclear weapons states agree not to transfer those weapons or to help non-nuclear states obtain them.
NON-SIGNATORIES:
Two non-signatories, India and Pakistan, developed nuclear weapons. Another, Israel, is widely assumed to have a nuclear arsenal but has not confirmed or denied it publicly.
North Korea signed the treaty in 1985 but announced its withdrawal in 2003 after U.S. officials confronted it with evidence they said pointed to a covert enrichment program. After a rapprochement, North Korea expelled IAEA inspectors again in 2009, and they have not returned since.
ESCAPE CLAUSE
The treaty is divided into 11 articles, including one that enables a state to withdraw '"if it decides that extraordinary events ... have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country". A state must give three months' notice to other treaty members and the U.N. Security Council.
TREATY REVIEWS
States that are party to the NPT meet to review it every five years. The next review conference is due to be held in 2026.
IRAN
Iran has been a non-nuclear-weapon signatory to the NPT since 1970. It has a uranium enrichment program that it says is for peaceful purposes, not developing weapons, but Western powers and Israel suspect it intends to develop the means to make atomic bombs.
The declaration by the International Atomic Energy Agency's 35-nation Board of Governors on June 13 that Iran is in breach of its non-proliferation obligations was the first such decision in almost 20 years and followed a damning report that the IAEA sent to member states on May 31.
The resolution adopted by the board cited Tehran'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 in Iran".
ISSUES OF CONCERN
A central issue of concern for the IAEA is Iran's failure to provide credible explanations of how uranium traces detected atundeclared sites in Iran came to be there despite the agencyhaving investigated the issue for years. The IAEA believes they mostly point to activities carried out more than 20 years ago.
Iran's foreign ministry and atomic energy organisation said in response that the Islamic Republic had always adhered to its safeguards obligations. They said the IAEA's findings were politically motivated and lacked technical or legal foundation.
Asked at a press conference about Tehran potentially leaving the NPT, a foreign ministry spokesperson reiterated Tehran's official stance against developing nuclear weapons but said: "In light of recent developments, we will take an appropriate decision. Government has to enforce parliament bills but such a proposal is just being prepared and we will coordinate in the later stages with parliament."
NUCLEAR SANCTIONS
Sanctions were imposed on Iran in 2006 after it failed to comply with a U.N. Security Council resolution demanding a halt to its uranium enrichment programme.
Iran agreed to restrain its nuclear program, while still enriching to a low level, in return for relief from economic sanctions under a deal reached with six major powers in 2015, but President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the agreement in 2018, reimposing U.S. sanctions.
Iran subsequently retaliated by ramping up its nuclear programme, abandoning the restrictions imposed by the deal. Iran and the United States have engaged in indirect talks since April to try to impose fresh restrictions on Iran's atomic activities in exchange for sanctions relief. REUTERS
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Straits Times
6 hours ago
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What is the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty?
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7 hours ago
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Civilian casualties mounted on both sides, in the fourth day of conflict between the regional foes. PHOTO: REUTERS Israel says it is on track for objectives after Iranian missiles hit Israeli cities TEL AVIV/DUBAI/WASHINGTON - Iranian missiles struck major Israeli cities on June 16 while Israel's prime minister said his country was on its way to eliminating 'threats' from nuclear and missile facilities in Iran and civilian casualties mounted on both sides. After four days of conflict between the regional foes, Iran said its parliament was preparing a bill to leave the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), adding that Tehran remained opposed to developing weapons of mass destruction. Passing the bill could take several weeks but the move risks stoking deeper concerns about Iran's nuclear programme in Western countries which have long suspected Tehran wants to build nuclear weapons, a charge Iran denies. 'Government has to enforce parliament bills but such a proposal is just being prepared and we will coordinate in the later stages with parliament,' said foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei, when asked at a press conference about Tehran potentially leaving the NPT. Israel, which said its military campaign will escalate in the coming days, began bombing Iran on June 13, saying Tehran was on the verge of building a nuclear bomb and targeting the nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. 'We are on our way to achieving our two main objectives: eliminating the nuclear threat and eliminating the missile threat,' Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in comments to soldiers at the Tel Nof airbase. Iran has always said its nuclear programme is peaceful, although the United Nations nuclear watchdog the IAEA declared last week that Tehran was in violation of its NPT obligations. Israel is presumed to have a sizable nuclear arsenal but neither confirms nor denies it. It is the only Middle East state that has not signed the NPT. Before dawn on June 16, Iranian missiles struck Israel's Tel Aviv and the port city of Haifa, killing at least eight people and destroying homes, prompting Israel's defence minister to warn that Tehran residents would 'pay the price and soon'. Israeli authorities said a total of seven missiles fired overnight had landed in Israel. At least 100 people were wounded in Israel. Currency drops Israel's military, which has gutted Iran's nuclear and military leadership with airstrikes, said on June 16 that it had killed four senior intelligence officials, including the head of the elite Revolutionary Guards' intelligence unit. Tehran, facing its worst security breach since the 1979 Islamic revolution toppled a US-backed secular monarch, said dozens of alleged saboteurs and 'spies' linked to Israel had been arrested since the start of the conflict. Its currency has lost at least 10 per cent of its value against the US dollar since the start of Israel's attack. The dangers of further escalation loomed over a meeting of G7 leaders in Canada, with US President Donald Trump expressing hope on June 15 that a deal could be done. Geopolitical stability in the Middle East has already been undermined by spillover effects of the Gaza war between Israel and Palestinian militant group Hamas. Iran has watched its longtime foe decimate its regional allies Hamas in the Gaza and Lebanon's Hezbollah with assassinations of their top leaders. In total, 24 people in Israel have been killed so far in the Iranian missile attacks, all of them civilians. The death toll in Iran has reached at least 224, with civilians accounting for 90 per cent of the casualties, an Iranian official said. 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