Exit from NPT would not trigger war, Iranian MP says
Exit from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty would not determine whether Iran faces war, an Iranian parliament member said on Thursday.
Exit from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty would not determine whether Iran faces war, an Iranian parliament member said on Thursday.
“Leaving or staying in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) would not be decisive in whether others choose war against Iran because they have attacked us before despite the law,” Hossein Ali Haji Deligani said.
“If we have unity and cohesion inside the country, there will be no war. The possibility of war exists only when there is no cohesion,” Haji Deligani added.
Last week, Iran’s parliament held a closed-door session to discuss how to respond to European powers’ move to trigger the snapback mechanism, including leaving the NPT, with lawmakers insisting the measure would have little real economic impact.
Lawmakers are considering a bill that would require Tehran to leave the treaty if UN sanctions are restored under the snapback mechanism.
Iran’s parliament -- not the government -- holds constitutional authority over membership in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Demands at the table
Iran’s conservative daily Farhikhtegan wrote on Thursday that the United States treats negotiations not as genuine diplomacy but as a tool to extract further concessions.
“Raising preconditions such as limiting the range of Iran’s missiles to 500 kilometers, cutting ties with the Axis of Resistance, and ending support for Hezbollah in Lebanon and the Popular Mobilization Forces in Iraq are naturally demands that Iran will not accept,” the paper said.
‘Axis of Resistance’ is a term the Islamic Republic uses to refer to its proxy forces in the region, including Palestinian militant groups, the former Syrian regime, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and other factions.
“It is clear that Iran will not yield to accepting this threat,” Farhikhtegan added.
Iran supports Hezbollah and Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) through logistical and financial means to expand its regional influence. Along with groups such as Yemen’s Houthis, these allies form part of Tehran’s wider proxy network in the Middle East.
Ali Larijani, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council, echoed the view on Tuesday, writing on X that Americans repeatedly use issues such as missile restrictions to press for gains.
“The path for negotiations with the US is not closed; yet these are the Americans who only pay lip service to talks and do not come to the table — and they wrongfully blame Iran for it,” Larijani said. “By raising unrealizable issues such as missile restrictions, they set a path which negates any talks.”
Europe’s snapback threat
Britain, France, and Germany — the three European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal — notified the United Nations in late August that they would pursue the reimposition of sanctions unless Iran returned to nuclear talks, granted inspectors wider access, and provided details on its uranium stockpile. European governments have stressed there is still time for diplomacy before sanctions formally return.
Iran has rejected the move, arguing that the Europeans themselves failed to uphold their commitments under the 2015 agreement after the US withdrawal in 2018.
European governments said they may extend the one-month deadline if Iran resumes direct talks with Washington, allows inspectors access, and clarifies its stockpiles.
The Herald said the drone program began in 2006 when Caracas signed a military deal with Tehran. Iranian firm Qods Aviation Industries supplied assembly kits, Venezuelan engineers trained in Iran, and Iranian teams later worked at the El Libertador Air Base in Maracay.
The program has since produced reconnaissance, armed and kamikaze drones modeled on Iranian systems.
“Cooperation with Iran was essential. Not only could Venezuela never have developed drones on its own, but even today it’s the Iranians who control those facilities. Venezuelan personnel can’t enter without their authorization,” one source who asked not to be identified told the Miami Herald.
The paper said it interviewed half a dozen people familiar with the ties between Caracas and Tehran and reviewed Venezuelan government documents — some signed by Chávez — that showed billions of dollars were funneled into the partnership.
Many projects were disguised as civilian ventures, such as bicycle or tractor factories, but served as fronts for more sensitive military work. At the core, Chávez sought weapons that could challenge US military power, the Herald reported.
US alarm over drones
Analysts at US think tanks, including the Center for Strategic and International Studies and the Southern Command’s Diálogo Initiative, have described the drones as a “new asymmetric threat.”
They warn that the systems could be used not only against domestic opponents but also transferred to other governments or armed groups in Latin America.
Military buildup
Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino said earlier this month that Venezuela will deploy drones, warships and about 15,000 troops near Colombia. He said the move is aimed at defending sovereignty and combating drug trafficking.
The Trump administration has ordered guided-missile destroyers, amphibious ships, a cruiser, a submarine and thousands of Marines to the region as part of what it calls anti-narcotics operations. Caracas called the buildup hostile and appealed to the United Nations to intervene.
Broader Iran-Venezuela links
Concerns about Tehran’s role in Venezuela extend beyond drones. Earlier this month, the Daily Mail reported that more than 10,000 individuals from Iran, Syria, and Lebanon were allegedly granted Venezuelan passports between 2010 and 2019. Former US officials told the paper some recipients may already be in the United States.
Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) said the Houston-based company contracted in May 2022 with Venezuela’s state-run airline EMTRASUR, a subsidiary of CONVIASA, to transport car parts from Mexico to Argentina.
The flight used an aircraft that had previously been blocked for being operated by Mahan Air and was crewed by Iranian nationals.
OFAC said the transactions amounted to apparent breaches of US sanctions on Iran, Venezuela, weapons proliferation and terrorism.
“Fracht conferred a direct financial benefit of approximately $935,000 to the blocked entity EMTRASUR, providing substantial revenue to the Maduro regime and specifically relating to use of an aircraft blocked for terrorism and proliferation,” the Treasury statement said.
Washington blacklisted Mahan Air in 2011, accusing it of supporting Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps. Although the aircraft later changed registration to a Venezuelan tail number, OFAC said it remained blocked property because of its origin and continuing links to the Iranian airline.
The Treasury added that Fracht executives disregarded internal compliance procedures and red flags, such as the aircraft’s Venezuelan registration and EMTRASUR’s ownership, when approving the charter. The case was deemed “egregious” and not voluntarily disclosed.
Still, the penalty was reduced from a potential $2.1 million after Fracht cooperated with investigators and undertook extensive compliance reforms, including firing the employee who arranged the deal and hiring nine sanctions specialists.
The United States has repeatedly accused Mahan Air of using commercial cover to move military equipment and personnel to support Tehran’s allies in the Middle East.
