Khamenei's Senior Advisor: If the 'Existence' of the Islamic Republic is Threatened, We Will Change Our 'Military and Nuclear Doctrine'

Kamall Kharrazi, head of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations and senior advisor to Ali Khamenei, stated on Thursday, May 20, that if the existence of the Islamic Republic is threatened by Israel, Tehran will change its nuclear doctrine. According to Reuters, this statement raises further questions about the true objectives of the Islamic Republic regarding what it claims to be the advancement of a peaceful nuclear program. Kharrazi stated, 'We have no intention to build a nuclear bomb, but if the existence of Iran is threatened, we will have to change our nuclear and military doctrine.' While the Islamic Republic has always claimed, citing Khamenei's fatwa, that it does not intend to build a nuclear bomb, some government officials have recently mentioned the prospect of producing nuclear weapons. Ali Akbar Salehi, former foreign minister and former head of the Atomic Energy Organization of the Islamic Republic, implied in a television program late last year that Tehran has 'the necessary capability to build a nuclear bomb.' He said, 'We currently have all the thresholds of nuclear science and technology.' He compared the capability to produce nuclear weapons by the Islamic Republic to the ability to manufacture a car, adding, 'Just as a car needs a chassis, engine, transmission, and other parts to be completed, the nuclear industry has different implementations that we have prepared, and by assembling these components, we can achieve our desired goals.' The Institute for Science and International Security based in Washington reported last year that the Iranian government could build a nuclear bomb in a week and six bombs in a month. Rafael Grossi, the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the UN's nuclear monitoring arm, previously warned that the Islamic Republic of Iran is 'not fully transparent' regarding its nuclear program. After the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA and the re-imposition of extensive sanctions, the Islamic Republic did not adhere to the limitations on its nuclear activities that were established under this agreement. In recent months, the International Atomic Energy Agency has criticized the Islamic Republic for its lack of cooperation in advancing nuclear activities, prohibiting inspector access, and deactivating the agency's monitoring devices at Iran's nuclear facilities. The Iranian government is enriching uranium to a purity of 60%, a level close to the 90% required for nuclear weapons. According to the official criteria of the International Atomic Energy Agency, if these materials are enriched beyond this level, they would be sufficient for two nuclear bombs. The Islamic Republic denies efforts to acquire nuclear weapons, but no other country has enriched uranium to this extent without the goal of producing nuclear weapons. Grossi in Isfahan: The Islamic Republic should take 'real, tangible, and practical' steps. The Islamic Republic claims that negotiations with Grossi have been 'positive'; Reuters quotes diplomats as saying that one must be cautious of 'empty promises.'