Iranian intelligence minister has threatened to develop an atomic bomb, after years in which the country denied its intent to do so: "If this happens, it will not be Tehran's fault" • On the assassination of Muhsin Fahrizadeh:
Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alawi // Photo: Reuters
Iranian Intelligence Minister Mahmoud Alawi issued an outrageous statement yesterday (Monday) saying that if his country "pushed into a corner" it could consider developing nuclear weapons.
This is a certain breach of the official line in Iran, which claims that the country is not interested in developing nuclear weapons and added that such weapons are against Islamic law.
"The supreme leader has in the past issued a fatwa (ruling) banning the development or use of such weapons, but when a cat is pushed into a corner it behaves differently than when it is free," the country's state television minister added. .
In addition to remarks on the development of nuclear weapons, the Iranian minister referred to the assassination of the head of Iran's military nuclear program, Muhsin Fahrizadeh, and said that the assassination was planned by a member of Iran's security forces.
Alawi tried to argue that the assassination was not a failure of the intelligence organizations and that they had proved "that their capabilities are too good when it comes to quality."
The minister claimed that his men had warned the government five days before the assassination was taking place that it was going to take place where it had taken place.
"Fahrizadeh was part of the army and the defense apparatus. The person who started the assassination plot was a traitor within the army. Because our people could not operate within the army, we could not detect the plot," the intelligence minister claimed.