Calls by lawmakers to develop nuclear weapons grow more frequent in Iran — OilPrice

In Iran, members of parliament and representatives of the security establishment are increasingly publicly supporting the idea of developing nuclear weapons, viewing them as a means of deterring possible attacks by the United States and Israel. OilPrice reports. Previously, public calls to develop a bomb were atypical for Iranian officials, who insisted on the peaceful nature of the nuclear program.

Calls to change the nuclear doctrine

Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani, a member of the parliamentary committee on national security and foreign policy, said that Iran has already paid a high price for its nuclear program and should move to weapons production. Another lawmaker, Hossein Ali Haji Deligani, called the lack of nuclear deterrence one of the country’s main weaknesses and suggested that a bomb test could take place in the near future.

Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, also said that the option of developing nuclear weapons is not ruled out. Conservative commentator Davoud Modarresian called the development of a bomb a guarantee of the country’s survival. At the same time, some Iranian politicians and commentators oppose such a step, warning that it could trigger a large-scale military response before Iran achieves nuclear deterrence.

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State of nuclear infrastructure

According to the publication, Iran’s nuclear infrastructure has sustained significant damage: the above-ground facility in Natanz was destroyed, while underground facilities in Natanz and Fordow were damaged and, by the prevailing assessment, are not operating. The strikes also destroyed the country’s only uranium processing and conversion capacities.

At the same time, the fate of 440.9 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% remains unknown. In March, IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi said that more than 200 kilograms of this stockpile were in tunnels in Isfahan, while part of it was in Natanz. In September, the agency reported that it had lost the ability to track these stocks more than a year earlier.

US and Israeli officials claim that Iran moved thousands of centrifuges to a deeply located facility in Pickaxe Mountain. Iran, in turn, rejects giving up its stockpiles of highly enriched uranium but had offered to dilute them as part of a broader agreement with the United States.