Khamenei Advisor: We Will Change Our Nuclear Doctrine If Our Existence Is Threatened

In a shift in threatening rhetoric towards Israel, Iran officially signaled a nuclear warning for the first time. Khamenei's advisor, Kamal Kharrazi, who has repeatedly affirmed in the past that the country does not seek to acquire nuclear weapons, stated that Tehran may have to change its nuclear doctrine. He added that this change could occur if the country's existence is threatened by Israel, according to the Iranian Students News Agency on Thursday. He said, "If the Zionist regime (Israel) attacks our nuclear facilities, our deterrence will change." Furthermore, he mentioned that Tehran has already hinted at its capability to produce such weapons. It is noted that Khamenei and other Iranian officials have repeatedly stated that the regime's doctrine prohibits the development of nuclear weapons. The Iranian leader prohibited the production of nuclear weapons in a fatwa at the beginning of the millennium and reiterated his stance in 2019 by saying, "Producing and storing nuclear bombs is a mistake, and using them is forbidden, despite our nuclear technology." However, the intelligence minister at that time stated in 2021 that Western pressure could drive Tehran to seek nuclear weapons. It is worth mentioning that Iran has conducted uranium enrichment operations to a purity level of 60%, which is close to the 90% used in weapons manufacturing, according to previous reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency. According to an official standard of the agency, enriching these materials to higher levels is sufficient to produce two types of nuclear weapons. While Tehran repeatedly denies seeking nuclear weapons, no other country has reached this level of enrichment without developing nuclear weapons.