Iranian Clerics Push Nuclear Weapons After 2026 War With U.S. and Israel
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Nov 3
Iranian Clerics Push Nuclear Weapons After 2026 War With U.S. and Israel
3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Nov 3
Summary
Friday prayer leaders, officials and rally crowds across Iran are increasingly urging the state to build nuclear weapons, shifting a once fringe hard-line demand into mainstream debate.
The push follows this year's war with the United States and Israel, with supporters arguing only a nuclear deterrent can prevent another attack.
Ali Sepahvand, a prayer leader in Kuhdasht, publicly called for atomic arms last week as worshippers chanted that nuclear deterrence was Iran's “inalienable right.”
That pressure collides with Tehran's long-standing claim that its nuclear program is peaceful and with Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's fatwa barring the development and use of nuclear weapons.
The debate is intensifying as Iranian leaders pursue diplomacy to avoid renewed conflict with the U.S. and Israel after Tuesday's American midterm elections.