Iran’s Nuclear Options: A Response to Existential Threats from Israel

According to Kamal Kharazi, adviser to the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Iran may need to change its nuclear doctrine if faced with an existential threat from Israel. He stated that although Iran has not yet decided to develop nuclear weapons, if threatened with an attack on its nuclear facilities, it may have no choice but to do so. General Ahmad Hajtalab, a senior representative of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps responsible for nuclear development issues, also discussed the possibility of revising Iran’s nuclear doctrine in response to a potential Israeli strike. International experts believe that Iran is nearing the ability to possess nuclear weapons and could become a nuclear power in the near future with the right decision, although only Ayatollah Ali Khamenei can make that decision.

In April 2024, Iran launched an attack on Israel for the first time using unmanned aerial vehicles, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles. Despite Israel managing to destroy most of the incoming threat without significant harm to itself, this event highlighted ongoing tensions between Iran and Israel and the potential for a change in Iran’s nuclear doctrine in response to threats to its security.