Tehran maintains it has not abandoned its obligations under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), even as the country faces ongoing military tensions and limited access for international inspectors. While mediated discussions regarding the conflict with the United States continue, significant, comprehensive oversight of Iran’s nuclear sites remains stalled. Withdrawal requires a notice after a decision has been made that “extraordinary events” have “jeopardised the supreme interests” of the country.
The push by domestic hardliners to reconsider the nation’s nuclear doctrine has intensified following multiple military assaults and the assassination of senior figures. Threats from US President Donald Trump regarding potential strikes on the underground Pickaxe Mountain facility near Natanz have further emboldened those advocating for a departure from the official policy that previously forbade nuclear weapon development under the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei addressed these concerns during a press conference on Monday, affirming that the Islamic Republic upholds its NPT commitments.
However, he acknowledged that cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has been curtailed.
Baghaei attributed this restricted access to the security climate, stating that the actions of the US and Israel against Iranian nuclear facilities have complicated the implementation of standard safeguards. “Other parties have imposed conditions, namely the attacks by the US and Zionist regime against our nuclear facilities which have caused issues concerning implementation of safeguards commitments,” he said, in reference to Israel.
He emphasized that under current circumstances, Iran cannot engage with the agency as it would during a normal period.
Despite these restrictions, Baghaei confirmed that IAEA inspectors successfully visited the Bushehr nuclear power plant just days ago. Bushehr remains the only site currently accessible to the agency, largely because it escaped direct bombing during the war, though US air strikes damaged its perimeter and forced the partial evacuation of Russian personnel. US warplanes did, however, attack the perimeter of the plant several times and caused damage, prompting partial evacuation of Russian personnel, who have yet to fully return.
The issue of verification remains a critical point of friction. In late October, IAEA chief Rafael Grossi informed the UN Security Council that the agency could not verify nuclear materials because Iran has failed to provide the necessary information and site access. Ali Vaez, of the International Crisis Group, observed that Tehran appears to be straddling a delicate line, keeping one foot within the NPT framework while remaining close to the exit. A separate safeguards agreement with the IAEA sets out how the agency monitors Iran’s nuclear activities to make sure it isn’t moving towards weapons development. Subsidiary arrangements, UN Security Council resolutions and nuclear agreements have fulfilled additional requirements. As a party to the NPT, Iran’s peaceful nuclear-use rights are recognised, and it is allowed to undertake peaceful exchanges and receive assistance with nuclear development. “Tehran might be willing to open the door a crack in exchange for tangible American concessions, but it is unlikely to surrender its most valuable nuclear bargaining chips upfront,” the Crisis Group’s Vaez said.
Vaez suggested that allowing limited inspections at Bushehr serves as a calculated gesture to preserve a path for diplomacy and mollify hardliners, while keeping more sensitive underground sites under wraps. These high-priority locations include the Fordow, Isfahan, and Natanz facilities. Seyed Hossein Mousavian, a former Iranian nuclear negotiator currently at Princeton University, noted that Tehran distinguishes between its legal treaty obligations and the risks of exposing bombed sites to inspections that could inform future military targeting by the US or Israel. Following US and Israeli attacks on Iran’s main nuclear facilities in and assassinations of senior leaders, Iranian authorities have increasingly discussed the possibility of abandoning the international treaty and building a nuclear bomb. “Allowing inspections at Bushehr is a low-cost gesture designed to keep diplomacy alive and hardliners at bay, while preserving leverage over the underground nuclear sites that matter most,” he told. Phased inspections based on the 2025 Cairo agreement between Iran and the IAEA, the expert added that a preliminary deal could potentially unlock limited. The agreement came several months after the US and Israel bombed Iran’s nuclear facilities during the 12-day war of June 2025.
The NPT framework fundamentally prohibits the pursuit of nuclear weapons while protecting a nation’s right to peaceful energy.
However, the treaty provides no defense against conventional military aggression. This vulnerability has become a central argument for those in Iran, such as security chief Mohsen Rezaei, who have openly debated the merits of leaving the accord. Hossein Mohebbi, spokesperson for the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), recently indicated that the organization would initiate the necessary preparations should the government decide to alter its nuclear doctrine.
Regional efforts led by Qatar and Pakistan continue in an attempt to prevent an escalation into a broader conflict. While Iran remains opposed to removing highly enriched uranium from its territory, it has signaled a willingness to downblend the material under international oversight. Furthermore, Tehran has indicated it would consider capping enrichment levels, similar to the parameters established in the 2015 nuclear agreement before it was unilaterally abandoned by the US government. According to it has also, It will not abandon enrichment altogether, but can accept a limit on enrichment as it did with the 2015 nuclear deal that US President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned in 2018, during his first term i. Although analysts have warned that escalation is likely over the coming months, regional mediators like Qatar and Pakistan continue to relay messages between Iran and the US to prevent another all-out war. Something that is unlikely to materialise in the foreseeable future, arriving at a deal that thoroughly addresses Iran’s nuclear programme would also require a resolution to hostilities in the Strait of Hormuz and beyond. And was followed by tensions that led to the US and Israel attacking Iran again on February 28, but it was never enforced. “Restoring meaningful transparency over Iran’s nuclear programme will require a larger bargain on enrichment, stockpiles and sanctions relief,” Vaez said.
