Iran’s parliament mulling withdrawal from nuclear proliferation treaty after Israeli strikes

Iranian lawmakers on Sunday pushed forward a bill to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

MP Meysam Zahourian revealed an expedited bill mandating Iran’s exit from the NPT under Article 10, which permits withdrawal in the face of extraordinary threats to national interests, awaiting formal endorsement and legal review.

Zahourian described the action as a legal countermeasure to recent developments undermining Iranian sovereignty and is expected to proceed rapidly through the Islamic Consultative Assembly (Iran’s Parliament).

“The minimal necessary measure is withdrawal from the NPT. We are currently considering this issue in parliament, and even withdrawal from the IAEA,” Iranian SNN television channel quoted Rouhollah Izadkhah as saying.

Earlier, Ebrahim Rezai, a member of the Committee on National Security and Foreign Policy of the Mejlis, called on the government of the Islamic Republic to withdraw from the NPT. He said that the NPT was supposed to ensure Iran’s security, “and not become the reason for its absence.”

Israel launched Operation Rising Lion on the night of June 13, targeting Iran’s nuclear programme. Iran retaliated less than a day later. Israel and Iran again exchanged strikes on June 14 and June 15. Both sides reported deaths and injuries in attacks and accepted hits within their territories.

Iran started developing its nuclear programme in the 1950s during the reign of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, with the support of the United States. In 1958, the country became a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and in 1968, Tehran signed the NPT, which was ratified in 1970.

After the shah was ousted in 1979 and the Islamic Republic proclaimed, the nuclear programme was halted until the authorities resumed the development of nuclear technology in the late 1980s.

Meanwhile, amid intensifying Israeli strikes, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani announced via local media that metro stations would remain open 24/7, with mosques and schools designated as safe zones.

“This is a war imposed on us. We tried to prevent it through dialogue but were denied that chance,” she stated.