Iran Debates Changing Its Nuclear Doctrine in the Open: Lawmakers Demand NPT Withdrawal and a Bomb; Officials Say No Decision Has Been Taken
Tehran — Iran's debate over whether to change its long-standing ban on nuclear weapons has moved into the open. Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on state television on October 31 that Iran is discussing whether the ban should still hold if hostilities with the United States and Israel resume. He also confirmed that Iran's nuclear doctrine has not changed and that no decision to change it has been taken.
The same day, hardline lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian wrote that Iran should withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and change its nuclear doctrine; he also said he had asked Iran's supreme leader, at a gathering in Qom, for permission to build an atomic bomb. Earlier, on October 27, 71 lawmakers signed a letter to the Supreme National Security Council and the heads of the three branches of government urging a review of the defense doctrine and consideration of nuclear weapons as a deterrent; about 10 proposals to withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty have been registered in parliament.
Iran's official position remains unchanged for now. President Masoud Pezeshkian has said Iran's policy still follows the religious decree issued by the late Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei banning weapons of mass destruction. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on October 31 that Iran has shown the intention of having a nuclear weapon but that it will not happen; he added that U.S.-Iran talks are ongoing and that Washington is open to a diplomatic resolution.
(Source: Al Jazeera)
Source: Al Jazeera
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：位于伊朗首都德黑兰的伊朗议会大楼。照片 CC BY-SA 4.0，作者 مانفی，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The Iranian parliament building in Tehran. CC BY-SA 4.0, by مانفی, via Wikimedia Commons.
