Iran cleric calls for building and firing an atomic bomb

Iranian cleric Mohammad Bagher Kharrazi, the secretary-general of Hezbollah and a figure closely tied to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei, has made statements regarding the necessity of nuclear weapons. Kharrazi declared that building and firing an atomic bomb is the ‘only way to save the country’ and suggested creating a ‘tsunami whose waves hit the American coasts.’

Observers note that the Iranian ruling establishment views nuclear capabilities not merely as a deterrent but as potential instruments of mass destruction. Concerns have been raised regarding the potential for such technology or materials to be transferred to regional proxies, including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Houthis. Israel remains a primary target of Iranian leadership and its proxies, with the potential for a single nuclear weapon to cause catastrophic destruction due to the state's small geographic size.