Iran Threatens to Withdraw from Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

After the Europeans triggered a Dispute Settlement Mechanism (DSM) against Iran, Tehran on Monday threatened to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

On 14 January, the three European states (France, Germany, Great Britain), signatories of the agreement on Iranian nuclear weapons concluded in Vienna in 2015, announced that they had triggered the DRM, which envisages the eventual reinstatement by the UN Security Council of all the sanctions that had been lifted under the agreement.

Vienna agreement under threat
The head of Iranian diplomacy, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said Monday that the European decision had "no legal basis" and said that if they took further steps, "Iran's withdrawal from the NPT would be considered," according to the Iranian Parliament's website. Concluded in 1968, the NPT is considered the cornerstone of the world nuclear order. The Vienna agreement, which drastically limits Iran's nuclear activities, has been threatening to shatter since US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018, before re-establishing heavy economic sanctions against Iran.

Berlin, Paris and London maintain that they remain committed to the agreement, but Tehran accuses them of inaction. Since May 2019, Iran has broken its commitments under the text, in response to US sanctions and the inability of European countries to circumvent them, according to Iran. "If the Europeans return to their commitments, Iran will also stop reducing its commitments, but if they continue on the same path (...) we have different options," Mohammad Javad Zarif reiterated.