In a significant escalation of rhetoric against Israel, Iran has for the first time officially hinted at the potential use of nuclear capabilities.
Kamal Kharrazi, an advisor to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, indicated a possible shift in Tehran’s nuclear doctrine during a television interview with Al Jazeera.
Kharrazi, who has repeatedly affirmed Iran’s stance against pursuing nuclear weapons, stated, “Should the Zionist regime (Israel) attack our nuclear facilities, our deterrence will change,” according to the Iranian Student News Agency.
This marks a departure from previous assertions by Iranian officials, including Khamenei himself, who issued a fatwa in the early 2000s prohibiting the development of nuclear weapons, reaffirming in 2019 that “making, storing, and using nuclear bombs is wrong and haram… although we have the nuclear technology.”
Despite such declarations, Kharrazi also mentioned that Tehran has already hinted at possessing the capability to manufacture such weapons. This admission comes amid Western pressures that the former Intelligence Minister in 2021 suggested might compel Iran to seek nuclear arms.
Iran’s uranium enrichment activities have reached purity levels up to 60%, closely approaching the 90% threshold typically used in weapons, as per reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The IAEA states that enriching materials to higher levels would suffice to produce two types of nuclear weapons.
While Tehran consistently denies ambitions to develop nuclear weapons, no other nation has achieved such high enrichment levels without producing nuclear arms.
Last year, Iran provided comprehensive assurances to the UN-affiliated IAEA for cooperation in a long-stalled investigation concerning traces of uranium found at undeclared sites, and for reinstalling surveillance cameras and other monitoring equipment removed in 2022.
However, reports to IAEA member states have shown minimal progress, prompting IAEA Director Rafael Grossi to revisit Iran just two days ago to discuss these issues further.
This ongoing tension underscores the delicate balance in the region and the critical implications of Iran’s potential nuclear strategy shift.
