Iran's Hardliners Push for Nuclear Weapons as U.S. War Drags On

AI Summary

Iranian hardliners are increasingly making public calls for the country to develop nuclear weapons as the war with the United States continues without resolution. This marks a shift from the authorities’ previous reliance on Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s religious edict against weapons of mass destruction and official claims that Iran’s nuclear program is civilian.

It was once taboo in Iran to publicly speak about developing nuclear weapons. The authorities would often point to former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's religious edict barring the development of weapons of mass destruction. Iranian officials have long insisted the country's nuclear program is solely for civilian purposes. Open calls for a bomb from sitting lawmakers and senior security officials would have been unthinkable a few years ago. But with the war with the United States in limbo, that's no longer the case. After almost eight…