Iran News: Fearing Regional Pressure, Once Again Iran’s Regime Resorts to Nuclear Bomb Extortion
Written by
Mahmoud Hakamian
In a bid to counter international isolation and assert power, the Iranian regime has once again dispatched a senior figure to boast with the nuclear bomb threat.
Kamal Kharrazi, advisor on international affairs to the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, has suggested that in the event of a threat to the regime’s existence, Tehran will alter its nuclear doctrine.
Speaking to Al Jazeera, Kharrazi reiterated the regime’s capability to produce nuclear bombs. The former foreign minister during Mohammad Khatami’s presidency and currently the head of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations emphasized Tehan’s readiness to adjust its nuclear doctrine if its existence is threatened.
Iranian regime authorities have repeatedly boasted about possessing nuclear weapon production capabilities, albeit presenting it as contrary to their policies. Kharrazi had admitted in July 2022 that Tehran has the “technical capability” to build nuclear bombs but currently lacks the intention to do so.
Wary of facing pushback from its warmongering in the #MiddleEastConflict, #Iran's regime has sent another official to play the nuclear extortion card, hinting that its Supreme Leader may reconsider his fatwa and pursue nuclear weapon production. pic.twitter.com/NR14AOpObd
— NCRI-FAC (@iran_policy) April 9, 2024
In his recent interview with Al Jazeera, translated and published by the state-run news agency ISNA, Kharrazi reaffirmed this point, linking it with a veiled threat: “Two years ago, I stated to Al Jazeera that Iran has the capacity to produce nuclear bombs; today that capacity exists, but we have no intention of producing nuclear bombs. However, if Iran’s existence is threatened, we will be forced to change our nuclear doctrine.”
On April 18, media reports in Iran quoted Ahmad Haq-Talab, commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ nuclear security and protection centers, suggesting a potential revision of Iran’s nuclear doctrine and policies if Israel “chooses to use the threat of attacking nuclear facilities to pressure Iran.”
Kharrazi’s remarks about the potential alteration of the regime’s nuclear doctrine come amid the International Atomic Energy Agency chief’s condemnation of Tehran’s “unacceptable” cooperation status with the agency following his two-day visit to Iran.
In the same interview, Kharrazi also underscored the regime’s continued support for militant groups in the region.
Iran News: Fearing Regional Pressure, Once Again Iran’s Regime Resorts to Nuclear Bomb Extortion