The chilling comments, made by Kamal Kharazi, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, now adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei, come amidst the fear of a full-blown war Iran-Israel war.
Iran-Israel war: Amidst reports of Ayatollah Ali Khamenei ordering top Iranian military officials to prepare for a retaliatory strikes against Israel, a close-aide of Iran’s Supreme Leader has warned that Tehran may be forced to change its nuclear doctrine if the Islamic Republic’s existence is threatened.
The chilling comments, made by Kamal Kharazi, a former Minister of Foreign Affairs, now adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader Sayyed Ali Khamenei, come amidst the fear of a full-blown war between Iran and Israel, which will create a region-wide crisis in the Middle-East and plunge it into chaos.
Iran may change its nuclear doctrine
Speaking to Al-Mayadeen, a pro-Iran satellite news channel, Kharazi asserted that Iran has the technical capabilities to make nuclear weapons, but its nuclear program is restricted to peaceful purposes due to an edict by Khamenei himself, who has declared using and making nuclear weapons as ‘haram’ (prohibited).
In the early 2000s, Ayatollah Khamenei had declared the development and use of nuclear weapons as a ‘haram’ act. “Making and stockpiling nuclear bombs is wrong and its use is haram. Although, we have nuclear technology, Iran has firmly refrained from weaponizing it,” the Iranian Supreme Leader had said in 2019, while reiterating his stance on nuclear weapons
However, Kharazi warned that Iran may change its nuclear doctrine and develop nuclear weapons, if the country feels a threat to its very existence. Notably, in recent years, several Iranian officials have been vocal about changing Iran nuclear doctrine, citing existential threat posed by enemy states like Israel and its allies, especially the United States.
Meanwhile, talking about the October 26 Israeli airstrikes against Iran, Kharazi stated that Tehran will respond “at the right time and the in the right manner”, and also hinted at Iran’s plans to increase the range of its ballistic missiles.
Khamenei asks Iran’s military to prepare for retaliatory strikes
Meanwhile, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has issued orders to top military officials to prepare for a retaliatory strike against Israel, further fueling the fear of a full-blown war between the two enemy nations which is likely to plunge the entire middle-east into chaos.
Khamenei’s order comes amidst the backdrop of a cryptic tweet by the Iranian military, day after visuals emerged, suggesting the Islamic Republic was preparing for a war. “See you very soon,” the Iranian military wrote in Hebrew on its official X handle.
Following the October 26 Israeli attacks, Iranian officials have asserted that Iran’s retaliation will be “harsh” and “unimaginable”, The New York Times reported.