Iran says it may pull out of NPT

Syllabus subtopic: Effect of policies and politics of developed and developing countries on India's interests, Indian diaspora.

Prelims and Mains focus: about the NPT and its significance; about JCPOA

News: Iran said on Monday it will consider withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) if a dispute over its atomic programme goes before the UN Security Council.

Background

Britain, France and Germany launched a process last week charging Iran with failing to observe the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal, a move that could eventually see the Security Council reimpose international sanctions on the country.

Iran has accused the three EU member states of inaction over sanctions the United States reimposed on it after unilaterally withdrawing from the landmark accord in 2018.

What was the 2015 deal about?

The landmark 2015 deal (JCPOA) reached with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States gave Iran relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Since the U.S. pullout, Iran has progressively rolled back its commitments to the accord in retaliation.

It has hit out at the three European nations that remain a party to the tattered deal for failing to live up to their promises to ease the impact of U.S. sanctions on its oil-based economy.

About the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is:

to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology,
to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and
to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.

As of August 2016, 191 states have adhered to the treaty, though North Korea, which acceded in 1985 but never came into compliance, announced its withdrawal from the NPT in 2003, following detonation of nuclear devices in violation of core obligations

Four UN member states have never accepted the NPT, three of which possess nuclear weapons: India, Israel, and Pakistan. In addition, South Sudan, founded in 2011, has not joined.

The treaty defines nuclear-weapon states as those that have built and tested a nuclear explosive device before 1 January 1967; these are the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China (P5).

Four other states are known or believed to possess nuclear weapons: India, Pakistan, and North Korea have openly tested and declared that they possess nuclear weapons, while Israel is deliberately ambiguous regarding its nuclear weapons status.

Critics argue that the NPT cannot stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons or the motivation to acquire them. They express disappointment with the limited progress on nuclear disarmament, where the five authorized nuclear weapons states still have 22,000 warheads in their combined stockpile and have shown a reluctance to disarm further. Several high-ranking officials within the United Nations have said that they can do little to stop states from using nuclear reactors to produce nuclear weapons.

Source: The Hindu

Join Our Telegram

IMF lowers India’s growth forecast

Naga-Kuki conflict in Manipur

World bank logistic performance index 2023

28 Apr, 23
SHARE

India is now ranked 38th out of 139 nations in the Logistic Performance Index (LPI) 2023 of the World Bank. From its previous rankings of 44th in 2018 and 54th in 2014, this is a notable improvement. Earlier, the Logistics Ease Across Different States (LEADS) Report 2022 was published by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. About Logi

Smuggling of Gold

28 Apr, 23
SHARE

Airports discovered more than 63% of this illegal gold. The Department of Revenue Intelligence recently conducted the Golden Dawn Operation across India, seizing 101.7 kg of illegal gold valued at Rs 51 crore. Despite the fact that India receives a legal import of about 800-1,000 tonnes of gold each year, the illicit market is thought to be

India-Thailand Relations

27 Apr, 23
SHARE

Both parties expressed satisfaction with the ongoing bilateral defence cooperation at the 8th India-Thailand Defence Dialogue, which was held in Bangkok, Thailand. Cultural ties and mutual cooperation that have been shaped by thousands of years of lasting historical and cultural ties characterise India and Thailand relations. Highlight

Translocation of Elephants

27 Apr, 23
SHARE

The Kerala government's appeal of the order of the Kerala High Court is rejected by the Supreme Court. The Kerala government's appeal against the Kerala High Court's directive to move Arikomban (Wild Elephant), the "rice tusker" of Munnar, to the Parambikulam tiger reserve was recently dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Global Buddhist Summit

26 Apr, 23
SHARE

Global Buddhist Summit In order to improve diplomatic and cultural ties with other nations, the Ministry of Culture recently organised the First Global Buddhist Summit 2023 in collaboration with the International Buddhist Confederation (IBC). About the summit "Responses to Contemporary Challenges: Philosophy to Praxis" is