DID Press: Natalia Nikonorova, Deputy Chair of the Foreign Affairs Committee of Russia’s upper parliamentary chamber, has warned that what she described as aggressive attacks by the United States and Israel on nuclear facilities in Iran could push Tehran to withdraw from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), potentially igniting a nuclear arms race across the Middle East.
She stressed that Iran has so far complied with its obligations under the NPT, while its nuclear installations have been targeted by Israel—a country that is not a member of the treaty. According to Nikonorova, “the logic of the agreement—renouncing nuclear weapons in exchange for security—no longer holds.”
Nikonorova added that if Iran were to leave the NPT, other regional powers might also reconsider their participation in a system that, in her words, fails to provide security guarantees, describing such a scenario as “a direct path to a nuclear arms race in the region.”
She further stated that the United States and Israel are effectively pushing Iran toward withdrawal from the treaty. In the event of such a move, she warned, Iran would be able to expand its nuclear program without oversight from the International Atomic Energy Agency. She emphasized: “If this happens, the responsibility will not lie with Iran, but with those who have undermined the credibility of the nuclear non-proliferation regime.”
Earlier, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, a member of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of Iran’s parliament, stated that attacks by the United States and Israel have rendered Iran’s continued membership in the NPT meaningless.