Iran was elected as one of the vice-presidents of a key Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) conference this week at the United Nations in New York. Delegates nominated 34 vice-presidents for the month-long meeting, with Conference chair and Vietnam’s UN ambassador Do Hung Viet explaining Iran’s nomination came from “the group of non-aligned and other states”.
The NPT came into existence in 1970 and emerged as a foundation of the global nuclear order. It aims to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons beyond five recognised nuclear states (US, Russia, UK, France, and China) and promote peaceful nuclear cooperation and advancing disarmament. With the exception of India, Pakistan, Israel and South Sudan, all member states of the UN have signed the NPT.
Iran joined the NPT in 1968 under the Pahlavi regime, becoming one of its earliest signatories. However, the country’s nuclear programme has been subjected to international scrutiny since the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Iran currently has enriched uranium levels of up to 60%, which exceeds the typical 3 to 5% required for civilian energy use, and has restricted access for inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), including at sites targeted during the 12-day war with Israel during 2025.
The IAEA and US had presented data, implying that Iran pursued a weapons programme until 2003. US President Donald Trump has continued to claim Tehran’s nuclear ambitions as a key factor behind the decision to ignite the ongoing war.
The IAEA had previously flagged unresolved questions about Iran’s activities in a confidential report, pointing to sites like Isfahan, where enrichment efforts and stockpiles of near weapons-grade material had raised concerns.
Therefore, Iran’s appointment as one of the vice-president’s of the NPTs has drawn criticism, especially from the United States.
Christopher Yeaw, assistant secretary for the US Bureau of Arms Control and Nonproliferation, was reported by Reuters of saying that it was “indisputable that Iran has long demonstrated its contempt for the non-proliferation commitments of the NPT” and called the decision “beyond shameful and an embarrassment to the credibility of this conference.”
According to Reuters, Reza Najafi, Tehran’s ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency, rejected the US statement as “baseless and politically motivated”.
He told the meeting, “It is indefensible that the US as the only state ever to have used nuclear weapons, and the one that continues to expand and modernise its nuclear arsenal seeks to position itself as an arbitrator of the compliance.”
