At an Oman-hosted NPT side event, Arab diplomats and U.N. officials warned that the long-stalled Middle East WMD-Free Zone remains a central test of the treaty’s credibility and the unfinished 1995 bargain.

Kazakhstan marked 20 years of the Central Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone at the U.N., presenting Semipalatinsk as proof that regional nuclear restraint can work. But the discussion quickly turned to the harder question: whether any of its lessons can apply to the stalled Middle East WMD-free zone.

The 2026 NPT Review Conference opened at the United Nations with warnings over rising nuclear risks and an immediate clash over Iran’s leadership role, exposing the strain behind the treaty’s consensus tradition.

The 11th NPT Review Conference opens at the U.N. under pressure from stalled disarmament, attacks on nuclear facilities, AUKUS, Iran, and the unresolved Middle East WMD-free zone. Diplomats warn the treaty’s old bargain now faces a harder question: does restraint still offer security?