Iran is capable of producing nuclear weapons and will change its doctrine to allow their production if it faces an “existential threat”, a senior adviser to Iran’s Supreme Leader has said.
Kamal Kharrazi, head of the Islamic Republic’s foreign relations strategic council, also said the country was “ready for war,” amid speculation that it was plans to launch a new attack against Israel.
“We are ready for war but we do not want to escalate it because we have currently proven our ability to deter war,” he told Lebanon-based pro-Iranian TV channel Al-Mayadeen .
“The matter depends on the Israelis, if they I want to continuewe will answer it. Our missile capabilities are clear to everyone and everyone believes in them, and we have proven it during our operations. »
Intelligence officials have suggested that Iran could attack within days, possibly through a drone attack launched from one of its proxy groups in Iraq.
It is unclear whether Iran plans to attack Israel before or after next week’s U.S. election, but Mr. Kharrazi said Israel was responsible for growing instability in the region.
Tehran was left shaken after Israel used dozens of aircraft, including F35 stealth jets, tankers and drones, in a retaliatory attack in the early hours of last Saturday morning.
Israel answered after the Islamic Republic launched 180 missiles towards Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in early October.
The Israeli military avoided directly targeting Iran’s nuclear program in last weekend’s strikes, although it did hit a base linked to nuclear experiments.
Iran does not currently possess a nuclear weapon and there is no indication so far that Tehran has decided to weaponize this program.
However, experts estimate it could produce enough weapons-grade enriched uranium to make a weapon within a week.
Developing that weapon would take months, and mounting it on a warhead capable of reaching Israel or another enemy could take even longer.
Kharrazi said that even if Iran has the technical capacity to produce nuclear weaponsit is currently curbed by a fatwa, or religious decree, issued in the early 2000s by the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
He added that this could change if the country’s existence was threatened.
“If Iran faces an existential threat, it will modify its nuclear doctrine. We now have the capacity to produce nuclear weapons, and the only obstacle is the Leader’s fatwa, which banned the production of nuclear weapons,” Kharrazi said.
He also said that the Islamic Republic of Iran would increase cooperation with Russiawhich it supplies with drones and missiles.
“Russia and China seek to build a new international system in order to free themselves from Western hegemony and authority,” he said.
Kharrazi added that it would increase the range of its missiles beyond a self-imposed limit of 1,250 miles if Europe ignored “Iran’s territorial integrity.”
Although Israel has not attacked Iran’s nuclear facilities, last weekend’s strikes made it easier to do so, having severely damaged the country’s air defenses.
Iran’s four Russian-made S-300 air defense systems have now been dismantled, meaning it is easier for Israeli fighter jets to safely enter Iranian airspace.
Chris Biggers, an imaging expert who worked for the US National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, told the economist that satellite images show the destruction of a radar southwest of Tehran and another system on the western border.
In last week’s attack, only F-35 stealth fighters entered Iranian airspace while F-15 and F-16 jets fired long-range missiles from neighboring Iraq.
Hitting nuclear sites buried deep underground would require firing missiles closer to the target, but destroying air defense systems and radars could make this task easier.
