Iran's nuclear program is central to strengthening national security and deterring international threats, a top official said on Monday as hawkish President Donald Trump returned to the White House after repeatedly vowing to deny Tehran a bomb.
"Iran has never discussed its military capabilities with anyone and never will," spokesperson Esmail Baghaei said, when asked if Iranian diplomats had addressed potential missile limitations during their meeting with European representatives last week.
The issue of limiting the country's long-range missiles has been a topic of discussion for years.
When the 2015 JCPOA nuclear agreement was signed, Tehran committed not to develop missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads. The United Nations recognizes the agreement as part of Resolution 2231, which formalized the terms of the JCPOA.
“Paragraph 3 of Annex B of resolution 2231 (2015) calls upon Iran not to undertake any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons, including launches using such ballistic missile technology,” it reads in part.
Iran has continued the research and development of ballistic missiles, insisting that these missiles are not intended to carry nuclear weapons.
During Donald Trump's first term as president, the administration demanded that Iran halt its missile program as a precondition for negotiating a new nuclear agreement following its withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018.
In 2024, amid rising tensions in the region, Tehran launched hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israel on two occasions. While most of the missiles were intercepted by Israel and its allies' air defense systems, a few caused damage inside Israel.
Although Tehran has not developed nuclear weapons, expert have cautioned that its ballistic missiles could be modified to carry warheads if it chooses to pursue them in the future, potentially following the North Korean model.
Tehran, already burdened by international sanctions, is bracing for an even tougher sanctions regime as Donald Trump makes his return to the White House. This has prompted growing calls from some Iranian government officials and politicians for negotiations with the incoming administration to ease US sanctions.
In comments to reporters, Baghaei repeated previous threats by Tehran that if UN sanctions are brought back this year as part of the JCPOA “snapback mechanism,” Iran might withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, however, has yet to signal any willingness to compromise on key issues, such as high-level uranium enrichment or the ballistic missile program.
When a reporter asked the spokesman about leaving the NPT as a retaliatory option, Baghaei said, "If the snapback mechanism is used as a tool to pressure Iran or extract concessions, our response will be proportional. It has been clearly stated that any misuse of this mechanism means there will no longer be justification for Iran to remain in certain existing agreements. This position has been expressed before as well."
“Over the years, adversaries have tried to weaken Iran in this field and entangle the country in international issues," Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said during a military conference in Tehran
"That is precisely why they do not want Iran to have full, indigenous control over it.”
Kamalvandi emphasized that the nuclear program not only strengthens Iran's international position but also drives domestic progress.
“This industry has significant impacts on people’s lives,” he added, highlighting applications for energy, medicine, agriculture, and environmental protection.
Iranian officials have repeatedly asserted that the country's nuclear program is peaceful, referring to a religious ruling by Khamenei prohibiting weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear bombs.
However, Kamalvandi's remarks emphasized its potential to create deterrence and balance power on the international stage, aligning it with broader security objectives.
“Power in today’s international world is distributed based on balance and realism. Islam recognized this long ago and considered power as a foundation for creating deterrence."
Iranian hardliners have previously advocated for developing nuclear weapons as a deterrent. Following Israeli airstrikes on October 26, Javan, a newspaper affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, urged Tehran to consider developing nuclear arms to counter external threats.
Last year in October, amid heightened tensions with Israel, thirty-nine Iranian lawmakers called on Iran's Supreme National Security Council to review the country's defense doctrine and consider adopting nuclear weapons.
Kamalvandi’s remarks come at a time when tensions with the United States are widely expected to escalate following Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Tehran has expressed concern that Trump’s administration might embolden Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to consider striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, further intensifying the region's volatile security dynamics.
Casting his vote on Election Day in November, Trump appeared to downplay any attempt to knock out Iran's ruling system but said Iran could not have nuclear arms.
“My terms are very easy,” Trump said, adding that Iran "can't have nuclear weapons." "I’d like them to be a very successful country,” he added, but declined to detail specific plans for US-Iran relations should he return to office.
