Iranian Hardliner Calls For Tactical Use Of Nuclear Weapons
Mohammad Javad Larijani, a hard-line Iranian political figure and head of the Institute for Research in Fundamental Sciences, said nuclear weapons could be used tactically against enemy military bases, adding to a growing public debate in Iran over the country's nuclear doctrine.
Speaking on Iranian state television late on November 7, Larijani said nuclear weapons should not be used against civilians but could be employed to destroy military installations. He argued that the distinction between nuclear and conventional weapons was less important when the target was an enemy military base.
Larijani also called for uranium enrichment to reach 80 percent and said US bases in Germany, Albania, and Britain could be considered legitimate targets if used to launch attacks against Iran.
His comments come amid mounting calls among hard-line figures to reconsider Iran's longstanding position on nuclear weapons amid the ongoing war with the United States and Israel.
On November 7, Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps spokesman Hossein Mohebi said the force would make the necessary preparations if the country's leadership decided to change its nuclear doctrine. A week earlier, Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei said no official decision had been made, although the issue was under discussion.
Iranian officials have long cited a religious ruling attributed to former Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei prohibiting the production, stockpiling, and use of nuclear weapons. However, his son and successor, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not publicly clarified whether he maintains that position.
In September, Iranian lawmakers also advanced a proposal calling for the country to withdraw from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, while some MPs have publicly advocated pursuing nuclear weapons.
New Details Emerge On Trial Of Protesters That Ended With 10 Death Sentences In Iran
Sources familiar with a notorious trial that led to 10 death sentences for people who joined protests in the central Iranian city of Isfahan in January have revealed new details of torture, rape threats, and glaring judicial irregularities in the case.
Speaking to RFE/RL's Radio Farda, three sources with detailed knowledge of the closed-door trial said judges delivered the convictions without having been present to hear evidence from defense lawyers.
This included defendants giving shocking testimony of torture, including a man who accused an investigator of applying electric shocks to his genitals.
The identities of the sources cannot be revealed for security reasons.
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