The Israeli Broadcasting Authority reported that senior clerics in Iran are considering providing “legitimate support” for a fatwa that would make obtaining nuclear weapons a “legitimate necessity.”
The authority quoted sources “informed of the details” that prominent religious officials from Qom and Mashhad, led by Ayatollah Ahmed Alam al-Huda, a member of the Assembly of Experts and representative of the Supreme Leader in the city of Mashhad, “are publicly promoting this religious discourse that was completely secret until the outbreak of the war.”
Iranian officials have long emphasized that possessing nuclear weapons contradicts the legitimate orientations of the leadership.
Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi commented on the subject of the fatwa, saying: “Iran’s nuclear doctrine has always been a peaceful doctrine,” adding that his country has sought and continues to seek to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes only.
Araqchi explained that “the fatwa depends on the person who issues it,” noting that he is not in a position to judge the jurisprudential or political opinion of the new leader on this matter.
Iran has an advanced nuclear program that includes enriching uranium to high levels in facilities such as Natanz and Fordow, which raises international concern about the possibility of developing nuclear weapons, despite Tehran’s continued denial of this, and its reliance on a “fatwa” from former guide Ali Khamenei prohibiting weapons of mass destruction, according to Iran’s assertions.
Tehran had previously announced that it had reached 60% uranium enrichment, which makes it close to the percentage needed to use uranium to manufacture a nuclear weapon.
On the other hand, US President Donald Trump previously announced his rejection of any uranium enrichment operations in Iran, even by 20%, stressing his country’s firm position in preventing Tehran from possessing nuclear weapons.
Trump considered that concluding a new agreement would be a smart move on the part of the Iranian leadership at the current stage.
In statements that combined diplomacy and warning, the US President indicated that regime change in Iran is a possibility, but it may not happen, stressing at the same time that he does not wish to use military force against it, even though it may be necessary at times.
This controversy comes in the midst of the escalating confrontation between Iran and the American-Israeli alliance, and with the Iranian nuclear program file returning to the forefront of regional and international tensions.
The fatwa attributed to former guide Ali Khamenei regarding the prohibition of weapons of mass destruction is one of the foundations on which Tehran denies its intention to develop a nuclear weapon, but the rise in enrichment rates to unprecedented levels has brought international concerns back to the forefront.
