Credit: Foundation for Defense of Democracies
Iranian lawmaker Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani claimed on Friday that Iran possesses nuclear weapons, despite the country’s formal policy under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). This statement came shortly after the UN’s atomic watchdog highlighted Iran’s capacity to produce multiple nuclear bombs, Fox News reported.
Speaking to Rouydad 24, a local media outlet, Ardestani contradicted the official line that Iran adheres to the JCPOA, which aims to prevent the nation from developing nuclear arms in exchange for economic sanctions relief.
“In my opinion, we have achieved nuclear weapons, but we do not announce it. It means our policy is to possess nuclear bombs, but our declared policy is currently within the framework of the JCPOA,” Ardestani said.
This controversial declaration follows a warning by Rafael Grossi, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, who recently stated that Iran has enriched enough uranium for several nuclear bombs.
The international community, particularly the United States and Israel, has expressed grave concerns over Iran’s nuclear ambitions, with the U.S. withdrawing from the JCPOA in 2018 under President Donald Trump’s administration.
Conservative media exploded after it was revealed Barack Obama’s former Secretary of State, John Kerry, has been secretly meeting with Iranian officials to salvage Iran’s nuclear weapons program.
Fox News reported:
Ardestani, who was re-elected to Iran’s quasi-parliament in March, added, “The reason is that when countries want to confront others, their capabilities must be compatible, and Iran’s compatibility with America and Israel means that Iran must have nuclear weapons,”
The Iranian parliament member noted, “In a climate where Russia has attacked Ukraine and Israel has attacked Gaza, and Iran is a staunch supporter of the Resistance Front, it is natural for the containment system to require that Iran possess nuclear bombs. However, whether Iran declares it is another matter.” Fox News Digital sent press queries to Iran’s Foreign Ministry in Tehran and its U.N. mission in New York.
Experts on Iran’s illegal nuclear weapons program warned about the seemingly speculative comments made by Ardestani. Jason Brodsky, the policy director of the U.S.-brd United Against a Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital that “Ardestani is only a member of parliament, and he’s not in the inner core of the regime’s nuclear decision-making circle, so while his comments are interesting, I think they have to be weighed properly given his access and standing.”
Just two days before Ardestani’s announcement, the president of the Iranian Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Kamal Kharrazi, told Al-Jazeera Network Qatar, “I announced two years ago, in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV, that Iran had the absorptive capacity and the capability to produce a nuclear bomb. Iran still has that capability, but we have not made the decision to produce a nuclear bomb. However, if the Iranian interests are threatened in this manner, we may change this doctrine. The military officials in Iran have announced that if our nuclear facilities would be attacked, we may change our military doctrine, with regard to the nuclear facilities.” The U.S.-brd Middle East Media Institute (MEMRI) translated and published Kharrazi’s May 8 interview.
Brodsky said, “Kharrazi’s comments are part of an increasingly loud chorus of threats from Iranian officials that they will change Iran’s nuclear doctrine if Israel attacks them. The current advanced state of Iran’s nuclear program provides it with the luxury to make these threats as it hopes to deter Western policymakers from launching pressure campaigns on Tehran.”
Critics of the Biden administration’s Iran policy argue the White House strategy of de-escalation and containment targeting Iran’s atomic program has backfired. Iran’s regime – the world’s worst state-sponsor of international terrorism – is moving at an astonishingly fast pace to secure an operational nuclear weapon.
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