Iran's Nuclear Doctrine Unchanged; Calls for Post-War Hormuz Protocol
Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi stated that the country's nuclear doctrine is "unlikely to change" despite the ongoing US-Israel conflict, signalling continuity with the fatwa issued by the late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (killed early in the conflict) that opposed nuclear weapons development.
Araqchi noted the new supreme leader has not yet publicly expressed a position on the nuclear question, leaving some strategic ambiguity in Iran's posture.
He called for Gulf states to draft a new post-war protocol for the Strait of Hormuz that would govern passage conditions under terms favouring regional interests — a significant geopolitical proposal given the Strait's centrality to global energy trade.
Iran closed the Strait on March 2, 2026, stating it "won't allow even a litre of oil" to reach the US, Israel, and their partners — the first effective closure in the waterway's modern history.
The US has sought to build a naval coalition to escort vessels through the Strait; France and most NATO allies declined to participate militarily, with France conditioning any involvement on a ceasefire first.
Iran's Nuclear Programme and the NPT Framework
Iran is a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT, 1968), which obligates non-nuclear-weapon states not to develop nuclear weapons in exchange for access to peaceful nuclear technology and a commitment from nuclear-weapon states to disarm. Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear programme is civilian in nature — for energy and medical isotope production — while the US, Israel, and European powers have alleged a weapons dimension.
Araqchi's statement reaffirms continuity with Khamenei's fatwa, signalling that Iran does not intend to weaponise its programme even amid existential military pressure — a statement aimed at preventing further international escalation while preserving strategic ambiguity.
The Strait of Hormuz: Legal Status Under UNCLOS
The Strait of Hormuz is governed by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS, 1982), which established the principle of "transit passage" for straits used for international navigation (Part III, Articles 34-45). Under transit passage, all ships and aircraft enjoy the right of continuous and expeditious transit regardless of the political relations between the strait-bordering state and the transiting vessel's flag state.
Iran's proposal for a new post-war Hormuz protocol is a bid to replace the UNCLOS-based transit passage framework with a regional arrangement that gives Gulf states — particularly Iran — greater control over who can transit and under what conditions, fundamentally reshaping global energy security governance.
Non-Proliferation Architecture: The NPT Review Process
The NPT operates on a five-year review cycle, with Review Conferences held every five years and Preparatory Committees (PrepComs) in intervening years. The 2020 NPT Review Conference was postponed to 2022 due to COVID-19; it ended without a final document due to disagreements over the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and the Middle East WMD-free zone issue. The next NPT Review Conference is due in 2026.
Key Details
- NPT three pillars: non-proliferation, disarmament, peaceful use of nuclear energy.
- Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) under NPT: US, Russia, UK, France, China (Article IX).
- Non-nuclear weapon states (NNWS): all others, including Iran.
- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT): Not yet in force; India, Pakistan, US have not ratified.
- International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Vienna: Conducts safeguards inspections to verify NPT compliance; Iran's cooperation with IAEA has been intermittent.
Iran's nuclear doctrine statement directly engages the NPT framework — by reaffirming non-weaponisation, Tehran is attempting to retain international legitimacy under the NPT while simultaneously using the threat of nuclear ambiguity as a negotiating card in the post-conflict diplomatic landscape.
- Iran closed Strait of Hormuz: March 2, 2026 — first effective closure in modern history.
- Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi: reaffirmed nuclear doctrine continuity with Khamenei's fatwa (early 2000s) against nuclear weapons.
- Khamenei: reported killed in early days of the US-Israel war against Iran (February-March 2026).
- JCPOA signed: July 14, 2015; US withdrew May 8, 2018; Iran's enrichment reached ~60% U-235 by 2023.
- UNCLOS 1982 (Art. 37-38): establishes transit passage rights through international straits including Hormuz.
- Strait of Hormuz: ~20 million barrels/day, ~20% of global petroleum; 89.2% goes to Asia.
- US sought naval coalition to escort vessels; France and most NATO allies declined military involvement pending ceasefire.
- Iran's proposed new Hormuz protocol: post-war regional governance framework favouring Gulf states' interests.