IRGC Commander Warns Iran Could Change Nuclear Doctrine Amid Growing Tensions with Israel

Tehran: As tensions with Israel escalate, a senior Iranian commander warned that Tehran could review and change its nuclear doctrine, Reuters reported, citing comments made by the commander to Iran's Tasnim News Agency. Following Iran's attack on Israel last weekend, the Israeli war cabinet under Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is deliberating on the best time and method of retaliating against Iran. 

Given that Israel has allegedly targeted the Iranian nuclear programme multiple times in the past, there has been considerable speculation that Israel could once again target the programme and associated facilities. 

Earlier this week, International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) chief Rafael Grossi said that the agency is worried that Israel could strike Iranian nuclear facilities in retaliation. He noted that IAEA inspectors in Iran had informed him that Tehran had temporarily closed its nuclear facilities “on security considerations.” 

Responding to speculation of such an attack, Ahmad Haghtalab, the IRGC commander in charge of nuclear security, told Tasnim News “The threats of the Zionist regime (Israel) against Iran's nuclear facilities make it possible to review our nuclear doctrine and deviate from our previous considerations.”

Haghtalab added, “If the Zionist regime wants to take action against our nuclear centres and facilities, we will surely and categorically reciprocate with advanced missiles against their own nuclear sites.”

Iran has repeatedly claimed in the past that its nuclear programme is only carried out with ‘peaceful purposes’ and the nation's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has been quoted as calling the development and stockpiling of nuclear weapons ‘haram’. 

Nevertheless, in 2021, Iran's then-intelligence chief had warned that Western pressure on Iran could push Tehran to develop such weapons. To add to this, since 2022, US-led efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal — which promised an end to Western sanctions so long as Iran agreed to never develop nuclear weapons technology — have failed to make much headway.