Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei met with senior Hamas officials in Tehran on February 8.[32] Hamas Shura Council head Mohammad Darwish called the fighting in the Gaza Strip a “great victory” for the Axis of Resistance. Hamas Deputy Political Bureau Chairman Khalil al Hayya described the victory as “shared” between Iran and Hamas. Khamenei reiterated his commitment to supporting Palestinian militias against Israel. Hamas Deputy Leader in the West Bank Zaher Jabarin briefed Khamenei on the situation in the Gaza Strip and West Bank and expressed appreciation for continued Iranian support.
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-february-8-2025
On the first day of the Iranian working week, the latest daily dollar rally pushed the greenback up 5.5% in just one week and 11% over the past month over US President Trump's refocused targeting of the country's oil exports and potential threats of “obliteration.”
https://www.intellinews.com/iran-s-rial-crashes-from-trump-maximum-pressure-366006/
Senior Iranian military leaders have urged Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in recent months to approve the construction of a nuclear weapon, according to an unspecified Iranian official speaking to the Telegraph.[1] The article reported that the military leaders have previously supported Khamenei’s policy against nuclear weapons but now feel that they are faced with an “existential threat” since US President Donald Trump entered office. The unspecified Iranian official said that “we have never been this vulnerable, and it may be our last change to obtain [a nuclear weapon] before its too late.” The official added that the Khamenei’s decisions to forbid nuclear weapons and negotiations with the United States is “driving the regime toward collapse.”[2] The official claimed that Iran has been “just a few button presses away from building a nuclear weapon for some time now.”[3] This article follows the New York Times reporting that Iranian scientists are exploring how to build a crude nuclear weapon quickly.[4] These reports are consistent with CTP-ISW assessment that Iran has restarted its nuclear weapons research but has not yet made a deliberate effort to build a weapon.
Khamenei’s Foreign Affairs Advisor Kamal Kharrazi previously told the Financial Times in July 2024 that Iran was open to pursuing nuclear weaponization if faced with ”an existential threat.”[5] Iranian Foreign Affairs Minister Abbas Araghchi alluded to the ”heated debate” on whether to build a nuclear weapon on January 28, when Araghchi threatened pursuing one if the E3 triggered snapback sanctions before October 2025.[6]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-february-9-2025