In 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) came into force. Its main goal is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and nuclear technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to achieve progress towards nuclear disarmament.
Currently, the NPT has been signed by 191 countries. Of these, 186 do not possess nuclear weapons, and 5 do.
The treaty officially provides the status of nuclear powers for 5 countries - the USA, Russia (the former USSR), Great Britain, France, and China - and obliges other countries to abandon the development of nuclear weapons. India, Pakistan and Israel, however, have not joined the treaty, and North Korea has announced its withdrawal from it, although this move is not recognized by the international community, according to the UN.
Why do only 5 countries have official status?
According to the treaty, “a nuclear-weapon state is a state that has produced and detonated a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device before 1 January 1967“ Thus, 5 countries have received the status of official nuclear powers. The rest, by joining the treaty, voluntarily renounce the right to possess nuclear weapons.
Also, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is not a party to the NPT. However, it monitors whether the parties to the NPT do not allow nuclear energy to be diverted from peaceful purposes to nuclear weapons.
How many warheads are there in the world
According to an annual assessment by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), some nuclear powers continued active nuclear modernization programs in 2024, modernizing existing weapons and developing new versions.
As of January 2025, there were 12,241 nuclear warheads in the world, with about 9,614 in military arsenals for potential use, according to the institute. Approximately 3,912 of these are deployed on missiles and aircraft, while the rest are in central storage. In addition, about 2,100 deployed warheads were on high alert on ballistic missiles.
The U.S. nuclear modernization program is progressing but has run into planning and funding issues in 2024, according to the institute. While the UK is not known to have increased its nuclear arsenal in 2024, its stockpile of warheads is expected to grow in the future.
India is believed to have expanded its nuclear arsenal slightly again in 2024, while Pakistan has also continued to develop new delivery systems, according to SIPRI.
Israel, a country that does not publicly admit to possessing nuclear weapons, is also believed to be modernizing its nuclear arsenal, according to SIPRI.
On 12 June, the IAEA adopted its first resolution in 20 years, acknowledging that Iran has violated its treaty and safeguards obligations, in particular the NPT and its Additional Protocol. It stated that Iran had failed to provide complete and timely information on its nuclear materials and activities at undeclared sites since 2019. since.
On June 16, Iran threatened to withdraw from the NPT amid Israeli strikes and Western pressure. The spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic, Esmail Baghaei, said that the Iranian parliament is preparing a bill to withdraw the country from the Treaty.
Later, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Rafael Grossi, told CNN that the agency has no evidence that Iran is systematically developing nuclear weapons.
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