Iran Hardliners Push Nuclear Bomb Plan as UN Sanctions Loom

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Hardline lawmakers in Iran are now calling for the country to start building a nuclear bomb. This demand comes as Western countries are preparing to bring back United Nations sanctions, fearing that war with Israel could restart.

The push for a nuclear bomb comes from 70 members of Iran’s parliament. These lawmakers are mostly from Mashhad, a very conservative holy city in northeastern Iran. They signed a letter asking for a “change in the country’s defence plan” to allow nuclear weapons development.

The letter was sent to the Supreme National Security Council, which is responsible for Iran’s nuclear decisions and includes top officials like the president, judiciary, and parliament leaders. It was not addressed to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei directly, because his orders cannot be questioned.

Iran has always said that its nuclear program is only for peaceful, civilian use, and the country does not want a bomb. But some lawmakers now argue that a religious ruling issued by Khamenei almost 20 years ago bans only the use of nuclear bombs—not the building or possession of them for protection.

The lawmakers also criticized Israel, saying it “has reached the brink of madness” and “kills innocent people without following international laws.” This kind of strong talk has grown louder since Israel attacked Iran unexpectedly in June, which led to a 12-day war. During that conflict, the United States also intervened to support Israel and bombed Iran’s main nuclear facilities.

In response to Western pressure, Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced that it is stopping cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). This comes after France, Germany, and the United Kingdom decided to bring back sanctions against Iran.

The European powers, called the E3, were part of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal. The United States left the deal in 2018 and put strict sanctions on Iran. Despite objections from China and Russia, the E3 countries activated a “snapback” mechanism, which could bring back all UN sanctions by Sunday if no new agreement is reached.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi went to New York to try to negotiate with European and other world powers. President Masoud Pezeshkian is also going to the UN General Assembly to discuss Israel’s war in Gaza and the growing support for a Palestinian state.

Araghchi presented an “actionable plan” to the Europeans. This plan reportedly includes Iran recovering and diluting its stock of highly enriched uranium if the sanctions are postponed. However, he said Europe was giving excuses and refusing to deal with the full political establishment, even though Araghchi claims he has full support from Iran’s top officials.

While dealing with Western pressure, Iran is strengthening its ties with Russia and China. Iran’s nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, went to Moscow to meet Russian officials and attend the Russian Energy Week forum. There, he said Iran and Russia will soon sign an agreement to build eight new nuclear power plants in Iran—four in Bushehr, which already has a plant, and four in other locations yet to be decided. This project aims to produce 20,000 megawatts of electricity to help solve Iran’s ongoing energy crisis and summer blackouts.

Iran is also working on expanding trade with China. Officials said China is Iran’s largest trading partner and the country wants to grow tourism ties as well. Some traders revealed that Iran is offering bigger discounts for its oil sold to China, as the United States keeps adding sanctions to reduce Iranian exports. Iran has also stored tens of millions of barrels of oil in floating storage to bypass restrictions.

Iran’s first vice president, Mohammad Reza Araf, said the government has plans to manage the economy if UN sanctions return. These plans include special support packages for the people, although details were not given. Iran already provides cash handouts and other support programs, because inflation remains over 35%, making life very expensive for its 90 million citizens.

The Iranian currency, the rial, is trading at around 1.05 million to one US dollar, close to its all-time low recorded earlier in September when sanctions were first triggered.

Iran has also entered “holy defence week,” which commemorates the eight-year war against Iraq in the 1980s. That war, led by Saddam Hussein and supported by both Western and Eastern countries, killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Top commanders of Iran’s army and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps have met and issued statements showing strong defiance against Israel and the United States, signaling that Iran is prepared to take tough measures to protect its interests.

Iran, nuclear program, Israel, UN sanctions, Mashhad