Latest news with #NuclearNonProliferationTreaty
Associated Press
23-07-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Iranian negotiator doesn't rule out exiting nuclear treaty if sanctions are reimposed
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — A top Iranian official warned Wednesday that European threats to reimpose sanctions could lead Iran to withdraw from an international pact that limits the spread of nuclear weapons, one of the last remaining safeguards against the Islamic Republic's nuclear program. Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Kazem Gharibabadi discussed with reporters his country's recourse against further financial punishment ahead of a critical meeting Friday with Britain, France and Germany. The talks between Iran and some of the remaining members of the 2015 nuclear deal, which the U.S. withdrew from in President Donald Trump's first term, are expected to take place in Istanbul. The three European countries have suggested triggering a so-called snapback provision in that accord that would reimpose sanctions on Iran if there is no progress on a deal to limit its nuclear program by August. The 2015 deal had eased economic penalties on Iran in exchange for restrictions and monitoring of its nuclear program, which Iran has insisted is peaceful. Gharibabadi, who has been part of the nuclear negotiation team, said that despite domestic pressure to withdraw from the separate, older Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, especially in the aftermath of the recent Israeli and U.S. strikes on its nuclear sites, Iran has remained compliant with the 1970 treaty. 'But, I'm quite confident that if the snapback is triggered, Iran will not show more restraint in this regard,' Gharibabadi said. If Iran does exit the treaty, it will be just the second country to do so, after North Korea in 2003, whose withdrawal has never been formally accepted. The warning from Iran comes as the Trump administration is once again seeking to reach a deal with Tehran on its nuclear program. The two sides had held several rounds of talks before Israel staged a surprise attack in June. Gharibabadi and Iran's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, have remained optimistic that the triggering of sanctions and withdrawal from the treaty can be avoided with 'diplomacy and negotiation.' Gharibabadi said Friday's meeting is very important but that its success will depend on how the Europeans approach Iran this time around. 'We have always valued our meetings with the European countries. But there is an important issue: I think we have always told them that the policies of the European countries should be independent,' he said. 'They should not coordinate their positions with the Americans.' He added, 'If this is the case, why should we negotiate with the Europeans when we can negotiate with the Americans?' Iranian officials, including Gharibabadi, said they are open to proposals on how to prevent further sanctions and 'prevent a more complicated situation.'
Yahoo
13-07-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Iran enacts law halting all cooperation with nuclear watchdog IAEA
The bill, titled 'Suspension of the Islamic Republic's Cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency with a Two-Urgency Requirement,' was originally put forward in parliament last month. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian announced on Wednesday that Iran would suspend cooperation with the UN nuclear watchdog IAEA, Iranian state media reported. The bill, titled 'Suspension of the Islamic Republic's Cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency with a Two-Urgency Requirement,' was originally put forward in Iranian parliament last month. "Given the violation of Iran's national sovereignty and territorial integrity by the Zionist regime and the United States of America with respect to the country's peaceful nuclear facilities and the endangerment of Iran's supreme interests, based on Article 60 of the 1969 Vienna Convention on Treaties, the government is obligated to immediately suspend any cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency based on the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and its safeguards, until certain conditions are met, including ensuring the security of the facilities and scientists,' it read. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said on Monday that the country cannot be expected to ensure usual cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency when the security of agency inspectors cannot be guaranteed days after nuclear sites were hit by Israeli and US strikes. Iran has halted collaborating with the IAEA "until the safety and security of our nuclear activities can be guaranteed," the country's foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, posted on X/Twitter on Friday. He also indicated that Tehran may reject any request by the head of the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA, for visits to Iranian nuclear sites. The decision was made because the agency's Director-General, Rafael Grossi, had facilitated a resolution against the Islamic Republic by the IAEA's Board of Governors that was "politically motivated," Araghchi claimed. The Islamic Republic official also added that the strikes on the country's nuclear facilities by US and Israeli forces also factored into the decision. Araghchi claimed that the strikes were "blatant violations of IAEA safeguards," and that Grossi failed to condemn them. Araghchi also claimed that Grossi's wish to visit the nuclear strikes that were struck is "meaningless and possibly even malign in intent." Grossi then emphasized the need for IAEA inspectors to continue their verification activities in Iran.
Sky News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Israel-Iran live: Iran executes three men accused of spying for Israel - as Trump rejects US intel on nuclear sites
Explained: Where are Iran's nuclear facilities? Donald Trump has been praising US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities - but intelligence suggests the destruction may not have been emphatic as he claims. In fact, the attacks may have just set the programme back by months, rather than eliminated it entirely - see our post at 21.16. As a reminder, this map shows the key nuclear locations - and we'll be going through each one. For context, we use the term nuclear proliferation a lot below, so here's the definition: The spread of nuclear weapons, and, more generally, the spread of nuclear technology and knowledge that might be put to military use. Nuclear proliferation is controlled by the Nuclear Non‐proliferation Treaty, which recognises five nuclear states: the US, the UK, Russia, China and France. Oxford Reference Natanz One of Iran's principal uranium enrichment complexes lies on a plain adjacent to mountains outside the Shiite Muslim holy city of Qom, south of Tehran. Natanz houses facilities including two enrichment plants: the vast, underground Fuel Enrichment Plant and the above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant. It was revealed in 2002 that Iran was secretly building the facility, which is said to be three floors underground. Fordow Another enrichment site can be found at Fordow - one that is extremely well protected, given that it's thought to be dug into the side of a mountain. Isfahan Iran's second-biggest city is home to a large nuclear technology centre, which includes a Fuel Plate Fabrication Plant and a uranium conversion facility. There is equipment at Isfahan to make uranium metal, a process that is particularly proliferation-sensitive since it can be used to create the core of a nuclear bomb. Khondab In Khondab lies a partially built heavy-water research reactor. These pose a nuclear proliferation risk because they can produce plutonium which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make the core of an atom bomb. Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it plans to bring the reactor online in 2026, with a previous 2015 deal seeing the reactor's core removed and filled with concrete to make it unusable. Tehran Iran's nuclear research facilities in its capital Tehran include a research reactor. Bushehr Iran's only operating nuclear power plant lies in the Bushehr area on the Gulf coast. The facility uses Russian fuel that Moscow then takes back when it is spent, therefore reducing the proliferation risk.
Sky News
25-06-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Iran executes three men accused of spying for Israel - as Trump rejects US intel on nuclear sites
Explained: Where are Iran's nuclear facilities? Donald Trump has been praising US strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities - but intelligence suggests the destruction may not have been emphatic as he claims. In fact, the attacks may have just set the programme back by months, rather than eliminated it entirely - see our post at 21.16. As a reminder, this map shows the key nuclear locations - and we'll be going through each one. For context, we use the term nuclear proliferation a lot below, so here's the definition: The spread of nuclear weapons, and, more generally, the spread of nuclear technology and knowledge that might be put to military use. Nuclear proliferation is controlled by the Nuclear Non‐proliferation Treaty, which recognises five nuclear states: the US, the UK, Russia, China and France. Oxford Reference Natanz One of Iran's principal uranium enrichment complexes lies on a plain adjacent to mountains outside the Shiite Muslim holy city of Qom, south of Tehran. Natanz houses facilities including two enrichment plants: the vast, underground Fuel Enrichment Plant and the above-ground Pilot Fuel Enrichment Plant. It was revealed in 2002 that Iran was secretly building the facility, which is said to be three floors underground. Fordow Another enrichment site can be found at Fordow - one that is extremely well protected, given that it's thought to be dug into the side of a mountain. Isfahan Iran's second-biggest city is home to a large nuclear technology centre, which includes a Fuel Plate Fabrication Plant and a uranium conversion facility. There is equipment at Isfahan to make uranium metal, a process that is particularly proliferation-sensitive since it can be used to create the core of a nuclear bomb. Khondab In Khondab lies a partially built heavy-water research reactor. These pose a nuclear proliferation risk because they can produce plutonium which, like enriched uranium, can be used to make the core of an atom bomb. Iran has informed the International Atomic Energy Agency that it plans to bring the reactor online in 2026, with a previous 2015 deal seeing the reactor's core removed and filled with concrete to make it unusable. Tehran Iran's nuclear research facilities in its capital Tehran include a research reactor. Bushehr Iran's only operating nuclear power plant lies in the Bushehr area on the Gulf coast. The facility uses Russian fuel that Moscow then takes back when it is spent, therefore reducing the proliferation risk.
Express Tribune
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Israel will spread nuclear arms everywhere
Listen to article When ISIS started around 2014, many people opined that this terrorist group was created by the United States in order to further its interests in the Middle East. While that was not true, the United States actually created the conditions, which created the terror group. The US invaded Iraq and captured and tortured some of the men who had nothing to do with Al-Qaeda. Some of those men went on to create ISIS as a result of the humiliation they had faced at the hands of American occupiers. Similarly, the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty has been successful in preventing most of the states around the world from acquiring nuclear weapons not because the Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer, who was accused of selling the formula for nuclear bomb to US-designated rogue states, was confined but because most states did not feel the need to go nuclear. Nation states strongly believed that international laws, international bodies, and especially the United States would do the moral thing if these states ever faced aggression from other countries. That may have changed for good now if not before. Libya was one of those states that gave up its nuclear programme in exchange for benefits and guarantees from the United States. Gaddafi faced the result of that bad calculation and Libya is no longer there as we knew it. North Korea showed defiance in the face of similar pressure to give up its nuclear programme and while it is very poor, it has survived the American onslaughts and shenanigans. Pakistan is a vivid example as well. Iran signed the NPT. It allowed international inspectors on its soil to satisfy the needs of the world that it was not making a nuclear bomb. The result was that Iran was always accused of cheating and planning to rush toward making a bomb. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu warned the world that Iran would become a nuclear armed state within 3 to 5 years. He first said that in 1992 and then in 1995. He said it in 2015 and before and after that as well. None of it was true. Every time an American president opened his mouth about Iran, he issued a threat against it. Obama said, "I don't bluff" and "all options are on the table" including the "military component". After the 1979 revolution in Iran, America has worked against Iran at every step. It provided chemical weapons to Iraq to be used against Iran. It has imposed sanctions on Iraq and deterred other countries from buying Iranian oil. All despite Iran choosing not to go nuclear or maybe because of it. The truth is Iran never wanted to make a bomb. But that may have just changed. Their calculus, if they have people who can do so much as add and subtract, would only come to one conclusion: Iran must have nuclear weapons in order to deter the world from acting against it. Israel and its unconditional supporter America criticise and impose sanctions on nations that are capable of fighting and defending their sovereignty. Bloody wars are waged against countries that are defenseless, that are not nuclear armed states. Israel would have never ever dared of attacking Iran, had Iran been a nuclear armed state. More importantly, Iran playing the nice guy and being the norms following player have not yielded any defence benefits for it. It has rather weakened its defence. And this is not just playing inside the mind of Iran but rather inside the mind of every nation state. Being in the good books of the US by giving up the thought of nuclear weapons isn't a currency strong enough to be banked upon to ensure defence should a US ally attack you. Israel is creating the desire for states to want to go nuclear. Despite the habit of the world to tap itself on the shoulder for being civilised, in the end survival comes down to brute power. Not values, not education, not anything else.
