Tehran – Ali Larijani, the top Iranian politician, says that Iran has the capacity to build nuclear weapons, but Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, leader of the Islamic revolution, issued a fatwa (religious order) banning its production, but if the US or Israel attacks Iran, the Islamic republic attacks Iran under nuclear weapons.
“I say Iran has the ability, but the Supreme Leader Fatwa means we are not moving towards weapons. Fatwa is different from political direction,” Larijani, a senior aide to the leader of the Islamic Revolution, told the programme that aired Monday night.
Just recently, the head of the US intelligence news community declared that Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons and asked, “So, what are you saying? What is your message?”
On Sunday, Trump threatened Iran with bombings and secondary tariffs if the country had not reached an agreement with his administration on a nuclear program.
“If they don’t make a deal, there’s going to be a bombing,” Trump said in a call with NBC News.
“I think the US is making strategic mistakes. He said there are both fatwas and they work under IAEA supervision. Iran may have no choice but to create secondary justifications and respond to public demands for security,” said Larijani, a former nuclear negotiator.
He adds, “Even now, we say we are not heading towards weapons. IAEA surveillance can last forever. We don’t want to make an empty claim, so there’s no problem.