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Iran Says to Change Nuclear Doctrine if Existence Threatened

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him speaking during a ceremony in Tehran on May 1, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him speaking during a ceremony in Tehran on May 1, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
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Iran Says to Change Nuclear Doctrine if Existence Threatened

A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him speaking during a ceremony in Tehran on May 1, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)
A handout picture provided by the office of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei shows him speaking during a ceremony in Tehran on May 1, 2024. (Photo by KHAMENEI.IR / AFP)

Iran will have to change its nuclear doctrine if its existence is threatened by Israel, an adviser to Iran's Supreme Leader, Kamal Kharrazi said, raising concerns about an Iranian nuclear weapon.
"We have no decision to build a nuclear bomb, but should Iran's existence be threatened, there will be no choice but to change our military doctrine," Kharrazi said, as reported by Iran's Student News Network on Thursday, adding that Tehran has already signaled it has the potential to build such weapons.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei banned the development of nuclear weapons in a fatwa in the early 2000s, reiterating his stance in 2019 by saying: "Building and stockpiling nuclear bombs is wrong and using it is haram (religiously forbidden) ... Although we have nuclear technology, Iran has firmly avoided it."
However, Iran's then-intelligence minister said in 2021 that Western pressure could push Tehran to seek nuclear weapons, Reuters reported.
"In the case of an attack on our nuclear facilities by the Zionist regime (Israel), our deterrence will change," Kharrazi added.
In April, Iran and Israel reached their highest level of tensions, with Tehran directly launching about 300 missiles and drones against Israel as retaliation for a suspected deadly Israeli strike on its embassy compound in Damascus.

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China Tells Iran ‘All Parties’ Must Adhere to Deal to End War

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks with the media at the UN headquarters in New York City, US, May 26, 2026. (Reuters)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks with the media at the UN headquarters in New York City, US, May 26, 2026. (Reuters)
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China Tells Iran ‘All Parties’ Must Adhere to Deal to End War

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks with the media at the UN headquarters in New York City, US, May 26, 2026. (Reuters)
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi speaks with the media at the UN headquarters in New York City, US, May 26, 2026. (Reuters)

China's top diplomat told his Iranian counterpart on Wednesday it was "key" for all sides to "genuinely implement" their commitments after Tehran and Washington reached a memorandum of understanding to end their war, Beijing's foreign ministry said.

"The dawn of peace has already emerged, the key part of the next step is for all parties to genuinely implement their commitments and eliminate interference from various sides," Wang Yi told Abbas Araghchi in a phone call.

"China has consistently supported Iran's reasonable and legitimate claims and Iran's efforts in safeguarding its own sovereignty and security," Wang added.

The Chinese foreign minister also called for navigation through the Strait of Hormuz to be "properly handled, responding prudently to the widespread concerns of the international community".

China is a net importer of oil and one of several major Asian economies that depend on the key waterway for energy, with Beijing repeatedly calling for safe passage there since the war began in late February.

In a phone call on Tuesday with his counterpart from Pakistan -- a key mediator between the United States and Iran -- Wang warned the following stage of negotiations would be "more difficult".

Pakistani officials have previously said China, Islamabad's close ally and Iran's top trading partner, played a key role in supporting its mediation efforts.

World

G7 Leaders Welcome Trump ‘Change’ on Ukraine

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 16, 2026. (Reuters)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 16, 2026. (Reuters)
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G7 Leaders Welcome Trump ‘Change’ on Ukraine

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 16, 2026. (Reuters)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, US President Donald Trump, French President Emmanuel Macron, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Japan’s Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during a working session at the G7 summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 16, 2026. (Reuters)

G7 leaders on Wednesday hailed a newly-found unity on increasing pressure on Russia to end its war against Ukraine, sensing a shift by President Donald Trump to take a tougher line against Moscow.

The three-day meeting of the leaders of Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the United States has focused intensely on Trump's deal to end the war with Iran and efforts to pressure Russia into brokering peace with Ukraine through ramped up sanctions.

In contrast to last year's G7, when Trump walked out early, the leaders agreed on a final statement involving key geopolitical issues including Ukraine and Russia.

"It was tough work but worth it," said German Chancellor Friedrich Merz, describing the statement as a "success".

As well as increasing supplies of air defense equipment to Ukraine more than four years into the war launched by Russia, the leaders agreed to "increase the pressure on the Russian war economy" by strengthening sanctions, including on Moscow's fossil fuel revenues, the statement said.

President Emmanuel Macron hailed a "very deep change in the US approach" towards Ukraine, saying Trump had understood that Russian President Vladimir Putin was not interested in peace.

"President Trump, like all of us, simply acknowledged that there was no serious willingness on Russia's part today to discuss peace."

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney said he had noted a US "change in tone with respect to Ukraine".

Throughout the summit, which was attended by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Trump took a harder line against Moscow, saying Russia had to seek a deal and showing impatience over the casualty toll on both sides.

G7 leaders also agreed to grant licenses for Ukraine-based companies to produce long-range missiles and air defense systems, a diplomatic source said.

- 'Smack in head' -

At a lunch on Wednesday the digital sphere took center stage, with some European G7 members pushing for more security to protect minors in a fast-changing world, moves that have irked the United States.

Sam Altman, head of artificial intelligence giant OpenAI, Anthropic chief Dario Amodei, the founder of Google's AI lab DeepMind Demis Hassabis, and Arthur Mensch of their European rival Mistral AI were all attending.

G7 leaders called on tech firms "to develop and apply technology and systems that ensure safe, secure and age-appropriate experiences," according to a joint statement.

Macron called for "better regulation" of artificial intelligence, warning of the risk of "non-cooperation between democracies."

Trump has been the center of attention throughout his stay at the summit in the lakeside resort of Evian.

French officials were thrilled that the mercurial US president has stayed for the entire event and signed on to the G7 communique.

In an unusual gesture, Macron invited Trump to dinner at the Palace of Versailles outside Paris after the summit winds down on Wednesday afternoon.

Trump said Tuesday that he had accepted Macron's offer because Louis XIV's former palace was "not gold leaf" but the "real deal".

Macron, under pressure to show he is not fawning over Trump, has already said the evening at Versailles will not be a "gala" dinner.

Yet it promises to be a relatively regal affair with dozens of guests set to attend the dinner inside the palace -- preceded by a concert and followed by a fireworks display -- before Trump flies back to the United States.

Trump emphasized that the Iran agreement was only a memorandum of understanding and said he was ready to resume military action if Tehran did not abide by its obligations.

"If they don't behave, we'll go right back to dropping bombs right smack in the middle of their head," he said.

While Macron was formally chairing the summit, the US president made clear who he believed was in charge as he arrived for the third and final day.

"I'm the boss," Trump said before taking his seat.

World

Italy Urges Israel to Be ‘Positive Player’ for Peace

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a working session with G7 leaders and outreach partners on promoting economic growth during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a working session with G7 leaders and outreach partners on promoting economic growth during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
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Italy Urges Israel to Be ‘Positive Player’ for Peace

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a working session with G7 leaders and outreach partners on promoting economic growth during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni attends a working session with G7 leaders and outreach partners on promoting economic growth during the G7 Summit in Evian-les-Bains, France, June 17, 2026. (Reuters)

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday urged Israel to be a "positive player" for peace in the Middle East following a deal between Iran and the US.

"Our goal must be to promote lasting, structural solutions that go beyond the logic of short-term truces," Meloni said as the G7 summit in France came to a close.

"We expect Israel to now act as a positive player in the peace process, and that the inevitable internal debate, also driven by the election campaign, will not jeopardize the difficult path that the US has begun," she said.

Israel's far-right national security minister, Itamar Ben-Gvir, on Monday denounced the deal between the United States and Iran, insisting his country was not bound by it.

Meloni also spoke of a "very positive climate" at the Evian summit between US President Donald Trump and the other leaders present.

She said that on Ukraine there was "a lot of convergence, which is not always obvious" and there was "no friction or divergence".

Asked about heavy criticism from Trump of her position during the Middle East war, Meloni said that she and the US president were both "quite strong characters".

"We are two people who are determined to defend their national interest," she said.