Two senior Iranian officials have told the Financial Times that leaving the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is not an immediate priority, but they did not rule it out.
The officials were not named. One of them told the newspaper: "Our policy regarding the NPT has not changed yet, but this doesn't mean it won't in the future."
The Financial Times reported that some hardline Iranians are calling for nuclear weapons and for withdrawal from the treaty. It said the debate has grown since the war with the US and Israel and the killing of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on 28 February.
The newspaper said there was no indication that Iran had decided to acquire nuclear weapons. One government insider told it that support among officials for developing such weapons had risen from near zero before the war to more than 50%.
That figure comes from a single anonymous source. The Financial Times also quoted the analyst Ali Vaez, who said Iran might keep its nuclear infrastructure as leverage in talks rather than openly build a bomb.
No official Iranian response to the Financial Times report had been reported at the time of writing. We have not been able to read the original article, which is behind a paywall, and the account here is based on reports that carry its content.
Other Iranian officials have spoken on the record about the treaty. President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran is not seeking nuclear weapons. On a visit to India, he said: "If we were seeking nuclear weapons, we would not have become a member of the NPT."
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, said Iran had yet to take a decision on withdrawing, because it "totally depends on Washington's behavior". That wording is a translation, and his remarks were reported as coming after the US abandoned the Islamabad memorandum.
Foreign ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei said on 30 March that the issue was under review in parliament, according to Iran International, an opposition outlet. He asked what the benefit was of being part of an agreement when certain powers did not allow Iran to use its rights.
Views inside Iran differ. Lawmaker Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani has advocated building a weapon and then withdrawing, according to The Cradle. Pezeshkian's government has defended staying in the treaty.
In late September, an urgent withdrawal proposal was reported in parliament. Lawmaker Mohammad Mehdi Shahriari, of the National Security Committee, said it might get "70 votes at most", according to Iran International, which cited the Jamaran website.
Ebrahim Azizi, head of the National Security Committee, said withdrawal drafts exist in parliament, according to the Newscord aggregator. He said turning them into a decision needs consensus among the pillars of the system.
Iran has been a signatory to the NPT since 1970, as a non-nuclear-weapon state. The treaty aims to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, promote peaceful nuclear energy and advance disarmament.
Article X allows a member to withdraw on three months' notice, citing extraordinary events. Notice must go to treaty members and the UN Security Council, according to the Financial Times as reported by Yahoo.
In October 2025, Atomic Energy Organization chief Mohammad Eslami said leaving the treaty was not on the agenda. In March this year, Mr Baghaei said parliament was reviewing withdrawal.
In September, the International Atomic Energy Agency referred Iran to the UN Security Council. Mr Eslami was barred from the agency's General Conference in Vienna, and calls to quit the treaty grew, according to Iran International.
Ali Khamenei had said nuclear weapons were forbidden under Islamic law. His son, Mojtaba Khamenei, is now Supreme Leader.
The Financial Times said US President Donald Trump has demanded that Iran dismantle its nuclear programme. Withdrawal from the treaty would raise tensions with Washington and international concerns about Iran's nuclear intentions.
The draft bills in parliament await a decision. According to Mr Rezaei and Mr Azizi, any outcome depends on agreement among Iran's leadership and on the conduct of the US, and any withdrawal would require three months' notice.
