Iran hinted on Monday that could change its nuclear doctrinewhich dictates an exclusively civilian use of this energy, “to defend itself”in the midst of a spiral of tension due to Israel’s escalation of war in the region.
This was stated by Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ismail Baghaei at his weekly press conference when asked about the latest comments by the authorities on the nuclear issue, including Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
“Our official position on the ban on the manufacture of weapons of mass destruction is clear, but as the leader said in his speech we will do what is necessary to defend ourselves,” Baghaei said. The diplomat further asserted that. Iran will “match whatever is necessary to defend the country.”
Khamenei asserted Saturday that he will do “whatever it takes to prepare the Iranian nation for confrontation with the arrogance (of the U.S. and Israel), be it militarily, armamentally or politically“, in response to a student who asked him about a possible change in the country’s nuclear doctrine.
Exclusively civilian end
Iran’s highest political and religious authority issued a fatwa (religious ruling) in 2003 that declared “haram” (forbidden) nuclear and biological weaponsIran has since assured that its nuclear program is exclusively for civilian purposes.
In the same vein, Khamenei’s adviser Kamal Kharrazi said Friday that Tehran could change its nuclear doctrine in case it has to face “an existential threat“, in an interview on the Lebanese television channel Al Mayadeen.
In addition, in early October 39 Iranian parliamentarians asked the Supreme National Security Council to to reconsider the defense doctrine of the Islamic Republic in the face of the Israeli threat. The parliamentarians, out of a total of 290, argued that the fatwa issued by Khamenei banning the manufacture and use of weapons of mass destruction can change according to conditions.
Iran-Iraq Confrontation
These discussions about the nuclear issue come in the midst of direct clashes with Israel, which killed five Iranians in an attack a few days ago against Iran, which has vowed revenge and already bombed the Jewish state earlier this month with some 180 missiles.
These words coincide with a hardening of the tone of the Iranian authorities against Israel in recent days, in which several spokesmen have assured that they will respond with “fierceness” to the Israeli attack this Saturday against military targets that caused five deaths.
The Iranian atomic program has come a long way in recent years after the collapse of the nuclear agreement signed in 2015, although the country does not have nuclear weapons.
According to the most recent report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), issued in August in Vienna, Iran produces highly enriched uranium, up to 60 %, a material that has hardly any civilian but military uses.