Iran said Monday it remains a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) but that it is too early to discuss resuming UN inspections of its nuclear facilities.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei told a press conference in Tehran that International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi must first condemn US and Israeli attacks on Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, Russian state news agency TASS reported.
“We are still a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty,” Baghaei said, adding that Iran remains committed to the treaty’s provisions, including those on the peaceful nature of its nuclear program.
The remarks set a political condition on the return of inspectors at a time when senior Iranian figures are openly questioning the country’s place in the treaty. The IAEA has not had access to key Iranian nuclear facilities since the June 2025 war, which included strikes on Fordow, Natanz and Isfahan, after which Tehran suspended cooperation with the UN watchdog.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told state television on October 31 that “it is unclear whether we will remain in the NPT after any future war.” He said that while Iran is a party to the treaty it holds 22 rights, and that Washington must recognize them before any nuclear discussions can begin.
Calls to leave the treaty have grown in parliament. Lawmaker Ebrahim Rezaei, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said 10 proposals for withdrawal had been registered, Al Jazeera reported. The Foreign Ministry said in June that a withdrawal bill was being prepared, but leaving the treaty has not become government policy.
The US and Israel attacked Iran on February 28, 2026, and fighting has continued intermittently since, including US strikes on Iran in July. A ceasefire agreed in June broke down over control of the Strait of Hormuz.
Under Article X of the NPT, a member may withdraw with three months’ notice if extraordinary events related to the treaty jeopardize its supreme interests.
