Iran Lawmaker Renews Call for Atomic Bomb Amid Unrestricted Retaliation Threat

A senior Iranian lawmaker on Saturday renewed demands for Tehran to build an atomic bomb, shortly after Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei issued a defiant statement ordering military preparations for “an immediate and unrestricted response” against the United States and Israel.

Mahmoud Nabavian, a hardline member of Iran’s Parliament, stated on X that “Given the threats facing the Iranian nation, it can be confidently stated that a change in the nuclear doctrine is the demand of the overwhelming majority of the heroic people of Iran.” He added in a separate post, “We must respond at the same level at which the enemy attacks us,” citing a Quranic verse on equal retaliation.

Nabavian, a former first deputy chairman of the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, has previously urged Khamenei to authorize the development of an atomic bomb, a stance he has held since at least 2024. His latest demand signals a public push by hardliners to overturn Iran's long-standing official opposition to nuclear weapons, amid the prospect of renewed military action by the U.S. and Israel.

Khamenei’s directive instructed the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps to update its list of U.S. and Israeli targets, including all “physical and non-physical” assets within the reach of Iranian forces. “If the enemies once again launch military attacks, it is the armed forces of the Islamic Republic and the Iranian nation that will determine the time and conditions for ending them,” he stated on his official X account and was broadcast on state media.

The supreme leader declared that Tehran would no longer limit its military action to the region. “Any level or type of threat must be met with an immediate, impactful, and geographically unrestricted response,” he wrote. Khamenei also proclaimed, “The spirit of jihad must be strengthened.”

Khamenei met Saturday with top military officials, including Armed Forces Chief of Staff Ali Abdollahi, Army Commander Amir Hatami, and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Ahmad Vahidi. The IRGC-affiliated Tasnim news agency described the directive as a significant expansion of Iran’s military posture, indicating that Tehran is no longer restricting military action to the Middle East.

Abdollahi stated that Iran’s armed forces have already prepared a new list of U.S. and Israeli targets and assets across a wider geographical area, warning of an “unimaginable response” to any renewed attacks. “We will respond to the enemy with great force and intensity, without geographical limits,” Iran International reported Abdollahi as saying.

Senior lawmaker Mojtaba Zarei commented that any location used to launch an attack against Iran could become a military target. “The Islamic Republic’s new defense doctrine is based on the principle that any location from which an attack against Iran originates can fall within the scope of the country’s defensive response,” Zarei, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said.

These threats emerge amidst growing concerns that diplomatic efforts to avert further conflict may falter, as U.S. and Iranian officials consider potential negotiations in Qatar.