NPT Review Conference Opens at UN as Iran War Rages

The 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons opens Monday, April 27, 2026, at 10:00 a.m. ET at United Nations Headquarters in New York. The month-long summit runs through May 22 and convenes against the backdrop of an active war over Iran's nuclear program.

Vietnam's Do Hung Viet to Preside

Ambassador Do Hung Viet, Permanent Representative of Vietnam to the United Nations, is the president-designate of the conference, according to UN advance documents and the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs. The treaty has 191 states parties, encompassing every UN member state except India, Israel and Pakistan, with North Korea having withdrawn. Azerbaijan participates as a non-nuclear-weapon state party.

The 2022 conference ended without a final document due to Russian objections over Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant language.

A Crisis-Era Backdrop

The summit opens during the most fraught nuclear-diplomacy period in decades. The New START arms-control treaty between the United States and Russia expired earlier in 2026 with no successor in place. The first Iran war, on Day 58 to 59, erupted out of disputes over Tehran's nuclear program. The conference convenes during an active US naval blockade of Iranian ports that has prevented 38 ships from movement.

Themes and What Is at Stake

Major themes per advance documents include nuclear-disarmament obligations under Article VI, peaceful uses of nuclear energy under Article IV, non-proliferation including IAEA safeguards, and a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction. The Chatham House and European Leadership Network briefings frame the meeting as the most consequential nuclear summit in five years. Substantive results are not expected until the conference closes on May 22.