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Iran’s Assembly of Experts, which has the authority to elect, supervise and dismiss the country’s supreme leader, has backed withdrawing from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and updating the country’s defense doctrine. The body considers these steps important for national security and deterrence, AnewZ reported.
In a 10-point statement issued on Thursday, the steps were described as an “inescapable necessity” to strengthen Iran’s deterrence capabilities. The statement, carried by the WANA news agency, cited repeated threats against Iran’s civilian nuclear program and the inability of international bodies to protect the country’s interests.
The Assembly said reconsidering Iran’s membership in the NPT and changing its defense doctrine had become a national demand aimed at creating stronger deterrence.
The statement expressed support for Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Mojtaba Khamenei and recent remarks by commanders of Iran’s Armed Forces. The Assembly opposed making concessions to the United States and warned that any new attack would prompt an immediate response “without geographical limitations.”
Calls to withdraw from NPT grow
Calls in Iran to withdraw from the NPT have grown among lawmakers and political groups following Israeli and US airstrikes on Iranian nuclear sites under UN monitoring in 2025 and 2026.
After the strikes, Iran’s parliament passed a law barring International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors from accessing the bombed sites. Tehran accused the inspectors of spying for foreign powers.
Iranian officials have also accused IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi of applying double standards. They criticized him for not condemning attacks on civilian nuclear facilities and alleged that he helped facilitate the restoration of UN Security Council sanctions against Tehran.
Dispute between Tehran and IAEA deepens
Tehran’s mission in Vienna called Grossi’s position on condemning attacks on nuclear facilities contradictory. The mission said Grossi had previously described condemning strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities as outside his remit.
In a post published on the X platform on Monday, the mission wrote: “It is interesting; it is clear that the phrase ‘STRONGLY CONDEMNS’ can be used by IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi. But why is this phrase not applied equally in all cases?”
The mission added: “When bombs from the US and the Israeli regime fell on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards — an unprecedented event in the Agency’s history — or when Iranian nuclear scientists were killed, these attacks were never condemned. In those cases, the director general apparently considered condemnation to be outside his ‘mandate’ and ‘job’.”
Grossi, meanwhile, defended the IAEA’s independence, saying the UN nuclear watchdog operates without external influence.
Continuing its criticism of Grossi, Iran’s mission in Vienna wrote: “Selective outrage is not a pillar of nuclear safety and safeguards. It is a pillar of a résumé.” The mission added: “Institutional duty is not optional. Professionalism requires consistency.”
