Nuclear weapons treaty exit on table as Iran gauges EU action on deal
Prior to the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal, Iran had hinted that it may leave the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in response. That threat now seems closer to becoming a reality.
While having granted Europe a chance to save the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iran is in parallel mulling an exit from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in response to the US withdrawal from the JCPOA. Such a move would be accompanied with many legal complications but is nonetheless among the most likely of Iranian responses should Europe fail to guarantee that its interests will be protected as outlined in the nuclear deal.
US President Donald Trump’s stepping up of his threats to pull out of the JCPOA in the months leading up to his May 8 withdrawal prompted Iranian officials to retort that the West — and especially the United States — would be surprised by their response were Trump to follow through with his threats.
The clearest indication of what this surprise response would be came to light April 24 when Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said, “The NPT acknowledges the right of all its member states to leave the treaty if their interests are endangered,” adding that this was an option the Islamic Republic was considering.
This is after Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated April 23, “There are some people in Iran who are talking about that [leaving the NPT]. That’s not, certainly, the government’s position.”
