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View all search resultsThe nuclear dilemma in the new era
A fundamental stance must be emphasized: nuclear weapons must be rejected as a bargaining chip for geopolitical stability.
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The word "disarmament" lies behind the United Nations logo on Aug. 1, 2022, at the 2022 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in New York City, the United States. (AFP/Angela Weiss)
T
he 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) comes amid a height of geopolitical tensions unseen since the Cold War. Its main agenda remains the same: preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, promoting disarmament and ensuring the peaceful use of nuclear energy.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, opening the conference on April 27, warned that the only path to peace is the total elimination of nuclear weapons. He stated that a nuclear war cannot be won by anyone and therefore must never be triggered.
It is important to note that, towards the end of the Cold War, then United States president Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev also said something similar.
Guterres also highlighted the global community's collective amnesia regarding nuclear dangers. The rhetoric of nuclear threats has resurfaced. Last year, for example, the global military budget increased to US$2.7 trillion, equivalent to 13 times the world's development aid. The number of nuclear warheads has increased for the first time in decades, and hard-won arms control norms have collapsed.
The review conference, which will conclude on May 22, will inevitably be fraught with ongoing tensions between the US-Israel and Iran.
Concerned about Iran's ability to develop nuclear weapons, US President Donald Trump ordered a massive attack on Iran's defenses in February. Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, was killed in the attack. Khamenei had been the one who had prevented Iran from developing nuclear weapons.
Rather than bowing to US and Israeli pressure, Iranian policymakers are now using Khamenei's death as a new pretext to move toward developing nuclear weapons.
