Iranian lawmakers and security officials are openly advocating nuclear weapons as a deterrent against U.S. and Israeli attacks. Others in Tehran push back, and the state of Iran's nuclear program leaves open whether it could build a bomb at all.
Iranian lawmakers and security officials are increasingly advocating nuclear weapons as a deterrent against U.S. and Israeli attacks. Public calls for a bomb were once taboo in Iran, where officials have long insisted the nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes.
The shift comes after almost eight months of conflict, with Washington reportedly weighing strikes on Pickaxe Mountain. US and Israeli officials say Iran has moved thousands of centrifuges to that site.
Lawmakers and officials call for a bomb
Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy committee, argued that Iran has already paid a price for its nuclear program and that it is time to produce weapons. Lawmaker Hossein Ali Haji-Deligani described the lack of nuclear deterrence as one of Iran's major weaknesses and suggested a bomb could be tested in the not-too-distant future.
Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, suggested pursuing nukes is not off the table. He has blamed Trump's policies for pushing the world toward acquiring nuclear weapons.
Some Iranians push back
However, the camp is not united. Mohammad Mokhber, a senior adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, said on October 19 that Iran already has the deterrence it needs, crediting its policy of regionalizing the conflict. According to Mokhber: "Any country that has the Strait of Hormuz has no need for an atomic bomb."
Critics also warn about the consequences. Commentator Amir Ali Abolfath cautioned that Iran's adversaries would learn of any moves to build nukes before Iran could produce them.
What is left of the nuclear program
Iran's ability to enrich uranium has been crippled, but the core of its nuclear program likely survives. The biggest unknown is the fate of Iran's 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60 percent purity.
IAEA director-general Rafael Grossi said in March that more than 200 kg of that stockpile remains in tunnels at Isfahan, with some at Natanz. The agency said in September that it had lost track of the stockpiles more than a year ago.
Meanwhile, Iran has offered to dilute the stockpile as part of a wider agreement with the United States to end the war.
Source: Oilprice.com
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