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By Tom O'Connor
Deputy Editor, National Security and Foreign Policy
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Iran's lead nuclear negotiator is asserting that his country would consider the option of withdrawing from a crucial treaty on preventing the spread of nuclear weapons in the event that European powers triggered a snapback mechanism reinstituting international sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Kazem Gharibabadi, who also serves as Iran's deputy foreign minister for legal and international affairs, made the comments Wednesday during a briefing held with journalists in New York, ahead of his upcoming meeting in Turkey with representatives of France, Germany and the United Kingdom.
While the United States withdrew from the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) under President Donald Trump's first administration in 2018, the three European nations remain party to the deal, as does Iran. The trio has warned that they would begin instituting their own snapback sanctions on Tehran if an agreement was not reached by the end of next month.
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Asked by reporters how Iran may respond to such a move, Gharibabadi pointed a previous decision made by former President Hassan Rouhani, who led during both the JCPOA's establishment as well as the unilateral U.S. withdrawal, that would involve Iran's withdrawal from the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
"There was a communication by President Rouhani to his counterparts that if the snapback is triggered, what would be the response of Iran on that time, he wrote that Iran would withdraw from the NPT," Gharibabadi said.
Newsweek has reached out to the foreign ministers of Germany, France and the United Kingdom, as well as the U.S. State Department, for comment.
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'No More Restraint'
The senior Iranian diplomat emphasized that Tehran has thus far remained a full party to the treaty, despite "huge pressure at the domestic level" to exit, particularly after a 12-day war with Israel that also saw direct U.S. strikes against Iranian nuclear facilities amid ongoing negotiations.
"After this aggression, the people, parliamentarians, journalists, politicians, they were of the view that now is the time to withdraw from the NPT, because the aggression is worse than the snapback," Gharibabadi said. "But Iran decided to stay in the NPT."
"But I'm quite confident that if the snapback is triggered," he added, "Iran will not show more restraint in this regard."
Responding to Newsweek's question about the stakes of his upcoming meeting with French, German and U.K. officials on Friday, Gharibabadi described the looming talks as "very important."
At the same time, he urged that "that the policies of the European countries should be independent," and "they should not coordinate their own positions with the Americans," warning that a European escalation from implementing U.S. sanctions to instituting their own restrictions via the JCPOA snapback mechanism would prove "counterproductive."
Non-Proliferation at Risk
Since the NPT entered into force in 1970, only one signatory, North Korea, has withdrawn its signature. Pyongyang took the measure in 2003, citing concerns that the U.S. was planning a preemptive attack on its nuclear facilities, and ultimately went on to conduct its first nuclear test in 2006.
Of the world's nine nuclear powers today, China, France, Russia, the U.K. and the U.S. are NPT signatories, while India, Israel, North Korea and Pakistan are not. Iran has continued to deny seeking nuclear weapons, a stance reiterated Wednesday by Gharibabadi despite doubts expressed by Israel and the U.S.
Israel has accused Iran of covertly stockpiling enough nuclear material to produce 15 bombs, prompting an unprecedented preemptive campaign launched last month against sites and personnel tied to the Islamic Republic's nuclear program and military. The two foes traded hundreds of strikes, with the U.S. conducting its own series of strikes against the key Iranian enrichment sites of Fordow, Isfahan and Natanz, followed by an Iranian missile strike on a U.S. base in Qatar, until Trump announced a ceasefire on June 24.
While debate persists, both in Iran and the U.S., as to the extent of damage caused by Israeli and U.S. attacks, some Iranian lawmakers have already pushed for a bill to call for Iran's withdrawal from the NPT, and potentially the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) as well, in parliament.
Conditions for US Talks
While preparing for the upcoming talks with European diplomats, Gharibabadi said that the Trump administration has continued to issue requests to resume negotiations, the sixth round of which had been scheduled to take place just two days before Israel's surprise attack that sparked the 12-day war.
Gharibabadi said Iran was open to restarting talks, but only if the U.S. would observe "two to three principles," which include "believing in a win-win solution, coming to the table of negotiations with honesty, that's important, and the platform of negotiation should not be abused for another military aggression."
"If they agree on the principles," he said, "there is a possibility to meet even tomorrow with them."
Update 7/23/25 11:30 a.m. ET: This story has been updated with new information.
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