Hardline lawmakers demand nuclear bomb as Iran braces for UN sanctions

Tehran, Iran – Hardline lawmakers successful Iran person once again demanded the state commencement gathering a atomic weaponry arsenic Western powers are days distant from reimposing United Nations sanctions amid concerns warfare could restart with Israel.

Led by a lawmaker from the ultraconservative beatified Shia metropolis of Mashhad successful northeastern Iran, 70 members of parliament signed onto a missive calling for a “change successful the defence doctrine” of the theocratic establishment.

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The letter, published by the state-run Fars quality website, was not straight addressed to Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei due to the fact that his commands cannot beryllium second-guessed by different authorities. Instead, it was directed astatine members of the Supreme National Security Council, which is successful complaint of the atomic record and includes the president, judiciary and parliament chiefs.

Iran has agelong argued that its atomic programme is for civilian purposes and it has nary volition of pursuing an atomic bomb, adjacent though archnemesis Israel is known to beryllium the lone nuclear-armed powerfulness successful the region.

The lawmakers argued that a fatwa, oregon an eventual spiritual ruling, issued by Khamenei astir 2 decades agone that prohibits the usage of atomic bombs does not technically forbid gathering oregon keeping them arsenic deterrence.

They warned that Israel “has reached the brink of madness”, “attacks without respecting immoderate planetary obligations and kills guiltless people”.

Such rhetoric has intensified importantly among the much hardline elements of Iran’s constitution successful the aftermath of Israel’s astonishment attacks connected Iran successful June that triggered a 12-day warfare and besides saw Washington intervene connected Israel’s behalf and bomb Iran’s main atomic facilities.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council announced connected Sunday that cooperation is present suspended with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) aft enactment by France, Germany and the United Kingdom to reimpose planetary sanctions.

The European powers, known arsenic the E3, are remaining signatories of Iran’s 2015 atomic woody with satellite powers that United States President Donald Trump unilaterally abandoned successful 2018 and followed with pugnacious sanctions. Despite beardown absorption by China and Russia, which besides negotiated and signed the 2015 atomic agreement, the E3 triggered the “snapback” mechanics of the landmark accord and secured a ballot astatine the UN Security Council past week.

All UN sanctions lifted arsenic portion of the 2015 woody volition beryllium reinstated by Sunday if determination is nary breakthrough statement with Iran, which appears improbable successful the constricted clip left.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi arrived successful New York aboriginal connected Monday arsenic the caput of a delegation to clasp negotiations with European and different powers. President Masoud Pezeshkian volition beryllium heading determination connected Tuesday to enactment successful the UN General Assembly, which volition beryllium heavy focused connected Israel’s genocidal warfare successful Gaza and recognition of a Palestinian state.

Last week, Araghchi presented what helium called an “actionable plan” to his European counterparts, which media reports said included Iran recovering and diluting its proviso of highly enriched uranium successful speech for deferring the snapback sanctions.

The diplomat said Iran was “faced with a litany of excuses and outright deflection, including the farcical assertion that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs does not correspond the full governmental establishment”. He emphasised that helium has the “full support” of the establishment, including the Supreme National Security Council.

On behalf of the Islamic Republic of Iran, I yesterday presented a tenable and actionable program to E3/EU counterparts to avert an unnecessary and avoidable situation successful the coming days.

Instead of being met with engagement connected the substance of this plan, Iran is present faced with a…

— Seyed Abbas Araghchi (@araghchi) September 18, 2025

Nuclear powerfulness plants woody with Russia

As the West ramps up pressure, Iran continues to huddle with China and Russia and tries to emphasise that Israel poses a menace to determination stability, peculiarly aft its strikes connected Qatar aimed astatine assassinating Hamas leaders.

On Monday, Iran’s atomic chief, Mohammad Eslami, arrived successful Moscow to clasp atomic negotiations and be the Russian Energy Week forum.

In Moscow, helium told Iranian authorities tv that the 2 countries volition motion an statement successful the coming days that would spot Russia physique 8 atomic powerfulness plants successful Iran. Eslami said 4 are envisaged successful Bushehr, wherever determination is an existing plant, and 4 successful different unnamed locations to beryllium determined by Iran.

This statement comes arsenic Iran has been facing an energy situation and rolling blackouts for years, peculiarly successful the summer, and it is seeking to nutrient 20,000 megawatts of powerfulness done atomic energy.

Mohammad Eslami, the caput of Iran’s atomic agency, addresses the International Atomic Energy Agency’s wide league successful Vienna, Austria, connected September 20, 2021 [Lisa Leutner/AP]

Reza Salehi Amiri, Iran’s tourism minister, told section media connected Monday that China is Iran’s largest trading spouse “and we privation it to beryllium our apical spouse successful tourism arsenic well”.

Six unnamed traders cited by the Reuters quality bureau past week said Iran has accrued its discounts for lipid sold successful China arsenic the US piles up sanctions to thrust down Iranian exports. For years, Iran has besides kept tens of millions of barrels of lipid successful floating retention arsenic portion of a shadiness fleet to circumvent sanctions.

Mohammad Reza Araf, Iran’s archetypal vice president, said during a section gathering connected Monday that the authorities has devised plans to negociate the country’s ailing system successful lawsuit UN sanctions are reinstated. He did not supply details but said they see “livelihood and peculiar enactment packages”.

Iran has already been resorting to cash handouts and assorted different schemes for years arsenic a persistent ostentation complaint of much than 35 percent decimates its 90 cardinal people.

Iran’s currency, the rial, hovered astir 1.05 cardinal to the US dollar successful the unfastened marketplace successful Tehran connected Monday, which is adjacent its all-time low registered astatine the commencement of September erstwhile the snapback mechanics was archetypal triggered.

The state has headed into what is known arsenic “holy defence week”, a play that marks 8 years of warring disconnected an penetration by neighbouring Iraq successful the 1980s, which was led by President Saddam Hussein, who was equipped by some the West and the East. The Iran-Iraq War killed hundreds of thousands of people.

Top Iranian subject commanders with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and the service met connected Monday and released statements of defiance against Israel and the US.