Iranian lawmaker: Time to match US, Israel's nuclear arsenal - analysis

Iran should change its nuclear policy and develop “any weapon that creates deterrence,” Iranian lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian said.

Regional reports see this as a reference to Iran pursuing nuclear weapons. “Iranian lawmaker Mahmoud Nabavian has underscored the need for a shift in the country’s nuclear policy to ensure deterrence against enemies, saying Tehran must be equipped with weapons possessed by the US and Israel,” Iranian IRNA state media said.

When reelected in March 2024, the Middle East Eye described him as a “Shia cleric and conservative politician best known for his radical views on foreign policy, having compared the nuclear deal with the 1828 Treaty of Turkmenchay that gave away many Persian cities in the Caucasus to Russia.”

In December 2023, Iran’s late foreign minister, Hossein Amir Abdollahian, briefed Nabavian, along with several others, about the Gaza war.

Nabavian is sometimes seen as a kind of regime whisperer or explainer. For instance, in May, The Cradle included an “exclusive” with him. It called the MP a “principalist who won the most votes in Tehran during the country’s March elections.” He also made comments about how Islam guides his views that Iran must fight Israel.

“The Iranian nation must equip itself with all the weapons that its terrorist enemies, namely the US and Israel, possess,” Nabavian said, according to Iran International on Sunday.

The report noted that the comments came as others were also calling for Iran to develop nuclear weapons. Ahmad Naderi, another parliamentarian, made similar comments.

“Our adversaries possess extensive and ready-to-deploy arsenals of nuclear warheads, leaving Iran at a significant strategic disadvantage,” he noted.

The reporting on this by Iranian state media and increased reporting in the region may suggest this is a trial balloon designed to give the regime the stamp of approval to proceed or to create a semblance of support so that the regime can press ahead, regardless of how the new president of Iran or others may feel.

“Speaking at an open session of the parliament on Monday, the Tehran representative said the enemies of Iran need to realize that the nation’s security is ‘our red line,’” the report said. “The Iranian nation will utilize any weapon that creates deterrence against its enemies,” the MP said.

He said it is a “clear necessity” to shift Iran’s nuclear policy.

The lawmaker said that the Quran encourages Iran to continue down this path. “Iran must acquire even more sophisticated weapons than its enemies so as to deter them from attacking the nation. The remarks come amid heightened tensions between Iran and regional resistance groups on one side and the Israeli regime and the US on the other side,” IRNA noted.

The remarks are raising eyebrows in the region. The National in the UAE reported on the comments.

“The head of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, which advises [Ayatollah] Khamenei, said in May that Iran had not made a decision to produce an atomic bomb but would have to ‘change its nuclear doctrine’ if it came under an existential threat, particularly if its nuclear sites were attacked.

“Months earlier, [former] intelligence minister Mahmoud Alavi said a ‘cornered cat’ behaved differently than when it was free,” their report added.