Iran Signals Nuclear Doctrine Shift, Could Build Atomic Bomb Due to US Actions
A senior Iranian security official has signalled that Tehran may reconsider its possession of nuclear weapons, arguing that the string of American attacks on his country strengthens the case for Iran to have an atomic bomb as an absolute deterrent.
Citing Iran International on Monday (24/08/2026), this was stated by the Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei. He said Washington has proven that “compliance with the global nuclear non-proliferation system apparently provides little protection from military attack”.
“The whole world is saying, ‘Wait a minute. So the NPT (Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) has no effect?’” he said in an interview on state television.
“When America wages war like that, people naturally ask: Why don’t we pursue our own nuclear weapons?” he added.
The former commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has not yet stated definitively that Iran has decided to build the doomsday weapon. However, his statement is considered highly explicit and bold for a security official of the most senior rank in the Islamic Republic.
Rezaei argued that Iran has long submitted to extensive international monitoring. Not only did it join the NPT, Iran also accepted the 2015 nuclear deal known as the JCPOA, even though it was unilaterally scrapped by US President Donald Trump in his first term.
“The level of security and inspections carried out in Iran over the past two decades has been unprecedented anywhere else in the world,” he said.
In reality, however, Iran’s nuclear facilities and sovereignty were ultimately still attacked by the US, which has directly altered the calculus surrounding nuclear deterrence. Rezaei even bluntly compared the cost efficiency of possessing nuclear weapons with conventional military strength that drains budgets.
“Why don’t we develop nuclear weapons so that no one can attack us? If a country has nuclear weapons, it can be cheaper and more effective than having hundreds of F-35s and spending enormous amounts of money on other military capabilities,” he asserted.
Rezaei also directly blamed Trump for damaging the global non-proliferation system more broadly through his military brutality. He said Trump made a mistake by attacking Iran.
“Many countries are now looking for ways to reconsider the international nuclear order. Isn’t that foolish?” he said, referring to the results of Trump’s actions.
Diplomatic channels following the war and the partial ceasefire have now largely ground to a halt. Meanwhile, Washington has begun shifting its focus towards intensive economic pressure.
Rezaei, who recently took over the top position at the Supreme National Security Council, is now adopting an increasingly confrontational posture. He has even warned that Iran will take deadly steps towards a fully offensive military strategy if diplomatic channels ultimately prove to have failed.