Iranian parliament prepares bill to withdraw from NPT

The Iranian parliament is preparing for urgent consideration a bill on the country's withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Military expert and political scientist Ivan Konovalov said in an interview with Radio KP that Tehran’s possible move is related to general tensions in relations with the United States. However, there is no final decision on exit yet.

According to the expert, if Iran really decides to leave the agreement, the procedure will not be immediate. The country must officially notify the parties to the agreement three months in advance and explain the reasons for its decision.

Konovalov urged not to link the initiative only with threats of new strikes on Iran. “These are complex reasons. It is not necessary to include only the resumption of hostilities. That is, of course, there is a certain element of prevention, but this is not the most important thing,” he explained.

He also noted that Iran's possible exit could affect the situation throughout the region. According to Konovalov, other countries in the Middle East in this case may think about their own nuclear programs. However, the political scientist emphasized, this is only a possible scenario for now.

Speaking about the time it would take for Iran to create nuclear weapons, the expert did not give a specific date. “Well, I won’t say, of course, because it’s... A dark story for everyone and there’s a lot of games around it. But in principle, if the IAEA approves this and we proceed from their data, it won’t take much time,” concluded Konovalov.