---
category: Diplomacy
date: 1968
summary: The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) is an international treaty whose
  objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to
  promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal
  of...
tags:
- Concept
- Treaty
- Nuclear
---

The Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and to further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament. [Iraq](/places/iraq/) was a party to the 1968 Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, and its nuclear reactor at [Osirak bombing](/events/osirak-bombing/) was inspected by the [IAEA](/organizations/international-atomic-energy-agency/) in January 1981 under the provisions of this treaty.[^1]

[^1]: Hersh, Seymour M. *The Samson Option: Israel's Nuclear Arsenal and American Foreign Policy*. Random House, 1991. Chapter 1.