Iran Considers NPT Withdrawal and Weapons-Grade Uranium Enrichment

The Government of Iran is moving toward the nuclear threshold as a strategic response to U.S. military escalations and economic pressure. Iranian authorities have instructed the nuclear establishment to prepare for uranium enrichment up to 90 percent, the weapons-grade level, should the United States further escalate attacks. This follows the accumulation of roughly 440 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent.

In the Iranian parliament, legislators are examining a triple-urgency bill to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Lawmakers argue that the bombing of safeguarded facilities constitutes extraordinary events justifying an exit. This legislative push follows June 2025 strikes by the United States and Israel on Iranian nuclear facilities and a July 2025 decision by President Masoud Pezeshkian to suspend access for International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors.

Internal strategic debates are currently weighing the deterrent model of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea against the disarmament model of Libya. While Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi maintains that nuclear weapons are religiously prohibited and inhuman, other officials argue that nuclear latency is indispensable for national survival. The government is currently hardening command arrangements and preparing for a prolonged economic war while using the threat of NPT withdrawal as diplomatic leverage to seek concessions from Washington and European governments.