Iranian MPs Want to Ask Supreme Leader to Change Fatwa against Nuclear Arms

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian. (IRNA)
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian. (IRNA)
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Iranian MPs Want to Ask Supreme Leader to Change Fatwa against Nuclear Arms

Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian. (IRNA)
Iran's Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian. (IRNA)

An Iranian deputy said that lawmakers may request that Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei retract the "fatwa prohibiting nuclear weapons."

The ILNA news agency reported that MP Mohammed-Reza Sabbaghian Bafghi warned: "We will ask the Supreme Leader to change his strategy and fatwa on the prohibition of producing nuclear weapons if the enemies continue their threats."

On Monday, the IRGC-affiliated Fars news agency quoted the head of Iran's atomic agency, Mohammad Eslami as saying that Iran has the technical capability to produce an atomic bomb but has no intention of doing so.

Eslami reiterated comments made by Kamal Kharrazi, a senior adviser to Khamenei.

"As Mr. Kharrazi mentioned, Iran has the technical ability to build an atomic bomb, but such a program is not on the agenda," said Eslami.

Shortly after, Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi said Eslami's statement was "misunderstood and misjudged" by the media.

"Iran's strategic potential and military power are deterrent enough to repel any foreign threats, thus rendering it pointless for the country to design and develop nuclear weapons," Kamalvandi said.

Meanwhile, Tehran criticized the latest package of US sanctions that targeted a network of companies involved in exporting Iranian oil, vowing a "firm response".

The official IRNA news agency quoted Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian as saying Iran had started pumping gas into centrifuges in response to the US sanctions.

Abdollahian also said that in the past weeks, while Iran was preparing for a new round of negotiations, the US suddenly proposed a censure resolution against Tehran at the IAEA Board of Governors to gain concessions from Iran at the negotiating table.

"We are serious about reaching a strong agreement, but if the American side wants to continue this path, our hands will never be tied," Abdollahian cautioned.

On Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced new sanctions on six entities facilitating illicit transactions related to Iranian petroleum and petroleum and petrochemical products, key sources of revenue for the Iranian government.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani said the White House's insistence on sanctions would first be met with a stern and prompt response from Iran. Tehran will then take the necessary steps to mitigate any potential impact on its commerce and economy.

Kanaani said officials in the Joe Biden administration have frequently resorted to former President Donald Trump's "maximum pressure policy" as a failed, fruitless strategy.

However, in action, they have continued and even expanded the strategy in spite of ongoing attempts to restart negotiations over Washington's return to the nuclear agreement with Iran, he pointed out.

Efforts to revive the agreement have so far failed. After 11 months of indirect talks in Vienna between Tehran and the US, the two agreed to restore the deal's outlines last March.

But the talks failed after Tehran demanded that Washington provide guarantees that no US president would abandon the agreement, as Trump did, and required removing the Iranian Revolutionary Guards from the US list of foreign terrorist organizations.



Trump’s UN Envoy Pick Waltz Says US Needs Strong Voice to Counter China

Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz waits for the start of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 15 July 2025. (EPA)
Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz waits for the start of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 15 July 2025. (EPA)
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Trump’s UN Envoy Pick Waltz Says US Needs Strong Voice to Counter China

Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz waits for the start of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 15 July 2025. (EPA)
Former National Security Advisor Mike Waltz waits for the start of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to be ambassador to the United Nations (UN) in the Dirksen Senate Office Building in Washington, DC, USA, 15 July 2025. (EPA)

The United Nations needs reform and the United States must have a strong voice to counter China, Mike Waltz, US President Donald Trump's pick to be his UN envoy, said on Tuesday, adding that he is "confident we can make the UN great again."

Waltz - a retired Army Green Beret and former Republican lawmaker from Florida - is one of the last major Trump nominees awaiting likely confirmation by the US Senate. He appeared before the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Tuesday as part of that process.

"We should have one place in the world where everyone can talk, where China, Russia, Europe, the developing world can come together and resolve conflicts" Waltz told the committee. "But after 80 years, it's drifted from its core mission of peacemaking. We must return to the UN's charter and first principles."

His remarks largely echoed what Trump has said about the world body.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced in March that he was seeking ways to improve efficiency and cut costs as the UN turns 80 this year amid a cash crisis.

"The UN has ballooned to over 80 agencies with overlapping missions that waste resources and, if confirmed, I'll push for transparency, like what we're seeing in the Secretary-General's UN80 reform plan calling for a 20% staff cut," Waltz said.

He said UN peacekeeping plays an important role, but also needs reform.

Washington is the UN's largest contributor - followed by China - accounting for 22% of the core UN budget and 27% of the peacekeeping budget.

The UN has said the US currently owes a total of $2.8 billion, of which $1.5 billion is for the regular budget. These payments are not voluntary.

The United States was also one of the world's largest humanitarian aid donors, but the Trump administration has slashed billions of dollars in foreign assistance, including to UN agencies.

'BLOCK AND TACKLE'

Waltz was Trump's national security adviser until he was ousted on May 1 after he was caught up in a March scandal involving a Signal chat among top Trump national security aides. Trump then promptly nominated Waltz as his UN ambassador.

"The use of Signal was not only authorized, it's still authorized, and highly recommended," Waltz said on Tuesday. He later clarified it was not authorized for sharing classified information and that no classified information had been shared in the March Signal chat.

Waltz repeated long-held US criticisms of the UN - that Washington pays too much at the 193-member world body, that it is anti-Israel and that China is building too much influence.

"We have to block and tackle Chinese influence," Waltz said. "America must have a strong voice and, if confirmed, I'll work with Secretary (of State Marco) Rubio to challenge this influence."

Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has maintained the wary stance on multilateralism that was a hallmark of his first term between 2017 and 2021.

So far, Trump has stopped US engagement with the UN Human Rights Council, extended a halt to funding for the Palestinian relief agency UNRWA and ordered a review of the UN cultural agency UNESCO. He has also announced plans to quit the Paris climate deal and the World Health Organization.

When asked about Waltz's confirmation hearing, UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said on Tuesday: "Our message to all member states is: if you're not fully pleased with what's going on in this organization, engage with the other member states in this organization."