Dozens of Iranian lawmakers have called for a fundamental shift in the country’s defense policy, urging authorities to consider building a nuclear weapon as a deterrent, Iranian media reported on Monday.
Seventy-one members of parliament signed a letter to Iran’s Supreme National Security Council and the heads of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, demanding a “review of the Islamic Republic’s defense doctrine,” according to the daily Hamshahri Online.
In their letter, the lawmakers wrote, “We respectfully request that, since the decisions of that council acquire validity with the endorsement of the Leader of the Revolution, this matter be raised without delay and the expert findings communicated to the parliament.”
The lawmakers argued that while the use of nuclear weapons would contradict a 2010 religious edict by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei prohibiting them, developing and maintaining such weapons “as a deterrent is another matter,” the outlet said.
“In Shia jurisprudence, a change in circumstances and conditions can alter the ruling. Moreover, safeguarding Islam -- which today is bound to the preservation of the Islamic Republic -- is among the paramount obligations. On this basis, the original prohibition can, as a secondary ruling, be transformed into a permissibility.”
The initiative was led by Hassan-Ali Akhlaghi Amiri, a lawmaker from the holy city of Mashhad, Hamshahri reported.
Iran has long insisted that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only and cites Khamenei’s fatwa against nuclear weapons as proof of its intentions. The United States and its European allies accuse Tehran of seeking the capability to produce nuclear arms, a charge Iran denies.
The calls from lawmakers come as Iran faces the prospect of renewed United Nations sanctions under a “snapback” mechanism set to take effect on September 28, after European powers accused Tehran of failing to honor the 2015 nuclear deal.
Iran is not known to have made any decision to pursue nuclear weapons, and the government has not commented on the lawmakers’ letter.
Major General Mousavi, chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces, said in a message marking Defense Week that Tehran’s military and defensive capabilities blunted enemy plans during the recent 12-day conflict and that Iran would not remain passive in the face of new threats.
Sacred Defense Week, which begins on September 22, is Iran’s annual commemoration of the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq war, marked by military parades and other war-themed events.
State news outlets quoted Mousavi as saying that “the armed forces,relying on strategic surprises, were ready to deliver a timely, decisive and beyond imagination response to any acts of aggression.”
Mousavi urged quicker development of advanced defense technologies and stronger deterrence, and called for preparations to counter so-called hybrid threats, especially cognitive and information warfare, which he said should be a priority for planners.
The comments came after a meeting between senior commanders of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the regular army, where unity and coordinated action were stressed.
Army Commander Amir Hatami, quoted by state media, said any smallest aggression would be met by a unified, rapid and forceful response from both services and said that national interests would not be negotiated away.
“This unity is the iron shield that protects our country against plots and conspiracies. We proved again in the 12-day war that we will not bargain over our national interests.”
“From the very beginning of the Islamic revolution in 1979, the enemies have demanded that the Iranian nation give up its rightful goals, but our people, with sacrifices and martyrs, have resisted and will continue to resist,” he said.
IRGC commander Mohammad Pakpour underscored the need for “jihad-style” mobilization of public capacities across education, media and civil institutions to shape public narratives and resilience against external influence, remarks that reflect Tehran’s focus on combining military and non-military tools in its defense posture.
“The events of this imposed war were exactly reminiscent of September 1980 and the national unity forged at the start of the Sacred Defense,” he said
He added that “in the early hours, several of our senior commanders were martyred, but with the Supreme Leader’s wise leadership, successors were appointed and the battle was managed until the enemy was forced to request a ceasefire.”
