Iran reaffirms stance against nuclear weapons despite Israeli attack

Iran will continue its policy of rejecting nuclear weapon development, despite recent Israeli airstrikes on Iranian territory, according to Esmail Baghaei, spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry.

“Our stance on weapons of mass destruction is clear and remains unchanged,” Baghaei stated in a televised press conference by Iran’s state broadcasting agency, Caliber.Az reports per foreign media.

“Based on the fatwa [Islamic ruling] issued by our country’s highest religious authority, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and guided by common sense, we have no intention to militarise our nuclear program.”

This religious ruling, in effect since 2003, declares the production of nuclear weapons forbidden as it contradicts Islamic principles.

Notably, the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) announced on October 26 that they had launched strikes on military sites in Iran, claiming they were in response to “multiple and continuous attacks.” Iran’s air defence forces reported that military sites in Ilam, Tehran, and Khuzestan provinces were targeted. However, they stated that the damage was limited, and the air defence systems successfully intercepted the primary assault. The Iranian Army reported that at least four Iranian soldiers were killed as a result of the strikes.

By Khagan Isayev