Iran plans to exit nuclear non-proliferation treaty amid conflict with Israel

Iranian parliamentarians are preparing a bill that could lead Tehran to exit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the foreign ministry said on Monday. The ministry reiterated Iran's official position against developing nuclear weapons. Spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said the government must enforce parliament bills but the proposal is still being prepared. He added that coordination with parliament will take place in later stages.

The NPT, ratified by Iran in 1970, allows countries to pursue civilian nuclear power while requiring them to forgo atomic weapons and cooperate with the UN nuclear watchdog, the IAEA.  Last week, Israel bombed Iran, claiming Tehran was close to developing a nuclear bomb. Iran maintains its nuclear programme is peaceful, although the IAEA declared that Tehran violated its NPT obligations.

President Masoud Pezeshkian reaffirmed on Monday that nuclear weapons are against a religious edict by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. Iran's state media reported no decision has been made by parliament on quitting the NPT. A parliamentarian said the proposal is at the initial stage of the legal process.

Baghaei said developments such as Israel's attack affect the state's strategic decisions. He suggested the IAEA resolution, which preceded the attack, was to blame and said those voting for the resolution prepared the ground for it.

Israel, which has never joined the NPT, is widely believed by regional governments to possess nuclear weapons, though it neither confirms nor denies this.

Meanwhile, Iranian missiles struck Tel Aviv and Haifa in Israel before dawn on Monday, killing at least eight people and destroying homes. Israel's defence minister warned that residents of Tehran would "pay the price and soon".

Israel's military said it killed four senior Iranian intelligence officials, including the head of the Revolutionary Guards' intelligence organisation. Israeli authorities reported that seven missiles landed in Israel out of fewer than 100 fired by Iran overnight. A military spokesman said Israel destroyed over a third of Iran's surface-to-surface missile launchers.

At least 100 people were wounded in Israel during the missile attacks, which were part of Tehran's retaliation for Israeli strikes targeting Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programmes. So far, 24 civilians have died in these attacks.

Search and rescue operations continued in Haifa, where about 30 people were wounded. Fires were reported at a power plant near the port. Video footage showed missiles over Tel Aviv and explosions were heard in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem.