JERUSALEM, Israel – Iran’s Intelligence Minister warned that the Islamic Republic may pursue nuclear weapons if crippling international sanctions against Tehran are not lifted.
“Our nuclear program is a peaceful one and in the fatwa by the Supreme Leader explicitly stated that the manufacturing of nuclear weapons is forbidden by the Sharia and the Islamic Republic won’t go after them and considers seeking them as Haram,” Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alavi said in a statement Tuesday reported by state media.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei signed a fatwa, or religious decree, in the 1990s stating that nuclear weapons are “Haram” or forbidden.
“However, if a cat is cornered, it may show a kind of behavior that a free cat would not. If Iran is pushed in that direction, then it wouldn’t be Iran’s fault but those who pushed it. Under normal circumstances Iran does not have such a program and intent at all,” Alavi continued.
The minister’s comments are significant because Iran has repeatedly said its nuclear program is only for civilian use and that it does not intend to create a weapon.
In recent weeks, Iran has ramped up its violations of the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with world powers.
Iran said last month that it began enriching uranium to 20% purity, a technical step away from weapons-grade. The country also said it wants to experiment with uranium metals, a key ingredient for a nuclear warhead.
Israel has long accused Iran of actively seeking a nuclear weapon and wants the US to continue its “maximum pressure” sanctions campaign against Iran.
The 2015 nuclear accord Iran signed with world powers put limits on Tehran’s nuclear program, but critics of the deal argue it doesn’t go far enough in restricting Iran. The Trump administration unilaterally abandoned the agreement in 2018 and hit Iran with harsh sanctions.
Newly-elected President Joe Biden wants to negotiate a stronger deal to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, but Khamenei said Sunday that if the US wants Iran to return to the negotiating table, Washington must first lift all of its sanctions.
President Biden said he will not lift the Trump administration’s sanctions until Iran returns to its obligations under the 2015 agreement.
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