Context: Amid the heightened military tensions between Iran and Israel, Iran's Parliament is preparing a Bill to potentially leave the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Relevance of the Topic : Prelims: Key facts about Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Mains: Crisis in West Asia- Key Developments.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
- NPT is a multilateral treaty, signed in 1968, aimed at limiting the spread of nuclear weapons including three elements:
- Non-proliferation
- Disarmament
- Peaceful use of Nuclear Energy.
- It defines nuclear weapon states (NWS) as those that had manufactured and detonated a nuclear explosive device prior to 1 January 1967. Five NSW are China, France, Russia, the UK and the US. All the other states are non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS).
- The Treaty does not affect the right of state parties to develop, produce, and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
- The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) verifies NNWS compliance with commitments under the NPT not to acquire nuclear weapons.
- India, Israel, and Pakistan possess nuclear weapons but have never accepted the NPT. India considers NPT as flawed and as it does not recognise the need for universal, non-discriminatory verification and treatment.
Iran is a signatory to NPT, and is obligated to allow IAEA inspections and limit enrichment. Recently, the IAEA’s Board of Governors has censured Iran for breaching its non-proliferation obligations.
According to the IAEA, Iran has 400 kg of uranium that is already enriched to 60%, just a few steps away from further enrichment to weapons-grade level of 90% or more. The total stockpile of uranium and other nuclear material would be much more.
Can Iran leave the NPT?
The United States has attacked three key nuclear installations in Iran- Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz. This marked the entry of the US into the ongoing conflict between Israel and Iran. Iran has the legal right to withdraw from the NPT owing to the US strikes.
- Article 10 of NPT: Each Party shall in exercising its national sovereignty have the right to withdraw from the Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events, related to the subject matter of this Treaty, have jeopardised the supreme interests of its country.
- A notice of withdrawal must be given to other parties and the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), three months in advance, and such notice shall include a statement of the extraordinary events it regards as having jeopardised its supreme interests.
Exiting the treaty raises two major concerns:
- Increased opacity in Iran’s Nuclear program: It will keep Iran out of the IAEA’s purview and regular inspections. IAEA would lose access to visit nuclear-sites in Iran.
- Set a precedent to exit NPT: It could set a precedent for other states to leave the global framework and weaken cooperation on nuclear non-proliferation.
However, remaining in the NPT does not necessarily signal an intention to build nuclear weapons, because signatories (like North Korea) have also developed weapons in the past.