David Lowry, letter in FT on Non Proliferation Treaty
Posted: 2nd July 2025
Letter David Lowry: In your leader “The war that should have been avoided” (FT View, June 14), you rightly identify the roots of the present Israel-Iran crisis as the “flawed decision in 2018 [by President Donald Trump] to withdraw the US unilaterally” from the so-called JCPOA agreement that corralled Iran’s atomic ambitions. Iran has been a signatory to the 191-member Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons since it was open to signature in 1968. This treaty, applying international safeguards, controls the nuclear activities of its signatory states. Israel, however — which is believed to have as many as 200 nuclear weapons — has always refused to sign the NPT. Now steps have been taken in the Iranian parliament to withdraw Iran from membership of the NPT. Many in power in Iran feel Israel is being rewarded by the international community for staying outside the NPT regime. Indeed, the final communiqué of the G7 in Canada on June 17 criticised Iran, which had been attacked by Israel; while Israel, the G7 asserted, had the right to defend itself. Iran, which has no nuclear weapons, was warned it cannot have any. Israel, which has nuclear WMDs, was praised! By taking unilateral military action against Iran and successfully encouraging the US to do the same, Israel undermined the credibility of the international community’s law-based order. This is a very slippery slope.