The Zionist Regime, the Global non-Proliferation System, and the Bitter Irony of History

On June 13, 2025, the international community witnessed a large-scale aggressive war that flagrantly violated all rules and principles of international law. Cities, civilian areas, ordinary citizens, and civilian infrastructure—including energy facilities of a UN member state and peaceful nuclear sites under comprehensive IAEA safeguards—were targeted. Some of these brutal attacks struck Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, especially the Natanz, Fordow enrichment sites, and the heavy water plant in Arak, all fully under IAEA monitoring.

The Zionist regime, the only nuclear-armed power in the region, is not a member of any of the three major WMD disarmament treaties, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC). While systematically possessing all three types of WMDs in violation of international law, this regime repeatedly accuses Iran’s peaceful nuclear program without providing any evidence, using such claims to justify its aggressive actions. These dangerous acts undermine the global non-proliferation regime and damage the credibility of the IAEA mission. They threaten the legitimacy and unity of the non-proliferation regime and pose a serious threat to global peace and security, demanding the attention and vigilance of the international community, especially the multilateral world.

The US B-2 bomber attacks on June 22, 2025, against Iran’s safeguarded nuclear facilities in Fordow, Natanz, and Arak confirmed suspicions about the unconditional support of some Western governments—especially the US—for Israel’s “unjustified” attacks on IAEA-monitored members. This showed that, unfortunately, some Western countries have sided with “great tragedies” on the wrong side of history.

Recently, the German Chancellor made a striking statement in an interview with ZDF, calling Israel’s actions “a dirty job done on behalf of all of us.” It appears US officials recognize that their military proxy in the region cannot handle its duties alone, prompting direct US involvement despite the risk of international disgrace.

The German official’s remarks are not a slip of the tongue but an admission of Western “double standards” in legal and international matters. In other words, Israel, representing the “unilateral coalition,” violates the global non-proliferation regime yet receives their support. The international community must not allow these crimes and violations to go unanswered. The Islamic Republic of Iran, through heroic resistance and national defense, punished the aggressor, who failed to achieve any of its bullying and illegal demands.

The reality is that what occurred during 12 days of military attacks by Israel and the US against Iran was not merely a military assault on an independent NPT member state but a direct attack on the fundamental principles of the international legal order, with the official and open participation of two nuclear powers: the United States and Israel. Historical ironies often carry a bitter taste, lingering for decades or even centuries in the collective memory of nations. But unlike this dark political tragedy, a sweet Persian proverb says: “Darkness will pass.”