Controversy over Iran being made NPT VP:US officials say this is an insult to the organisation; Tehran says US should not teach us

A war-like situation continues between Iran and the United States over the nuclear programme. Meanwhile, a notable development has emerged, with Iran elected as Vice President of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The decision was taken at the 11th Review Conference of the NPT, currently taking place at the United Nations in New York. The conference is held once every five years. Conference president and Vietnam’s ambassador, Do Hung Viet, said Iran’s name was proposed by the Group of Non-Aligned Countries. This group includes more than 100 nations, including India. US official Christopher Yeo called the move an insult to the NPT. He said Iran has long tried to build nuclear weapons and should not be given an important position in the organisation. Iran rejected the allegations. Tehran said the United States, which has itself used nuclear weapons and continues to expand its arsenal, has no right to lecture others. How does NPT work? The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty came into force in 1970. It is seen as the world’s most important system for preventing the spread of nuclear weapons. The treaty has a simple deal: countries without nuclear weapons agree not to build them, while countries that already have them agree to gradually reduce and remove them. In return, all countries are allowed to use peaceful nuclear technology. The treaty was signed in 1968 and came into force in 1970. Today, 191 of the 195 United Nations member states are part of the treaty. India, Pakistan, Israel and South Sudan are not members. Five countries are officially recognised as nuclear powers: the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France. All other countries are not allowed to build nuclear weapons. The treaty is based on three main pillars: NPT’s second objective is failing The main problem is that while the peaceful use part of the treaty is working reasonably well, the goal of reducing weapons is widely seen as failing. Experts say major powers are modernising their arsenals instead of cutting them, especially China. Some also argue that the rules are not applied equally, creating anger among smaller countries. Four countries never joined the treaty: India, Pakistan, Israel and South Sudan. North Korea joined at first, but withdrew in 2003 and later carried out nuclear tests. A major question now is that Israel is not part of the NPT, yet is believed to have nuclear weapons and is attacking Iran, which is a member of the treaty. India and Pakistan carried out nuclear tests in 1998. Israel is also widely believed to have nuclear weapons, but it does not officially confirm this and remains outside the NPT. Iran, an early NPT member, now accused of making nuclear weapons Iran signed the treaty in 1968, but its nuclear programme became controversial after the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Although Iran remains a member of the NPT, it has repeatedly been accused of breaking the spirit of the agreement. Iran has enriched uranium up to 60%, while 3 to 5% is normally enough for civilian energy use. Iran has always said it is not building nuclear weapons. However, earlier reports from US intelligence agencies said it worked on a weapons programme until 2003. Because of this, US President Donald Trump took a hard line against Iran, and tensions rose close to war. ​