Iranian lawmaker calls for withdrawal from NPT
Iranian MP Ebrahim Rezaei urges Tehran to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, saying the NPT has failed to guarantee Iran’s security and should no longer be honored.
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An Iranian flag fluttering outside the IAEA headquarters in Vienna, Austria, undated. (Social Media)
A senior Iranian lawmaker has called for Tehran to formally withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), arguing that the agreement has failed to protect the country’s security interests, reported Fars News Agency.
Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, stated on Sunday that continued participation in the NPT has become detrimental to Iran’s national security.
“Now is the best time to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We agreed that the Treaty... would ensure our security, not become the reason for its absence,” Rezaei declared.
Nuclear commitments reconsidered amid regional escalation
The statement comes amid growing tensions in the region, following intensified Israeli occupation strikes on Iranian targets and Iran’s retaliatory missile campaign under Operation True Promise 3. The rising threat of wider conflict has prompted Iranian officials to revisit long-standing nuclear commitments, including cooperation with international monitoring bodies.
Rezaei's remarks reflect a growing sentiment among conservative lawmakers and policy advisors in Tehran who view the NPT as an obsolete framework that exposes Iran to strategic vulnerabilities while failing to restrain hostile powers, particularly the Israeli occupation and its undeclared nuclear arsenal.
While Iran has not officially announced a withdrawal, the calls for exiting the treaty mark a significant shift in tone, indicating that Tehran may be laying the groundwork for a more assertive nuclear posture in response to continued aggression.
On that note, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi confirmed Saturday that the anticipated sixth round of indirect nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States will no longer proceed. The meeting, which had been scheduled for Sunday in Muscat, was officially called off, ending days of speculation.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Albusaidi stated, "The Iran–US talks, which were scheduled to be held in Muscat on Sunday this week, will not take place now. But diplomacy and dialogue remain the only way to lasting peace."
The talks, launched in April under Omani mediation, collapsed in the wake of a deadly wave of Israeli attacks on Iran.