Hardline Iranian parliamentarian and member of Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Javad Karimi Ghodousi tweeted on April 22 implying that if granted permission, Iran could test its first nuclear weapon within one week.[17] Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Deputy Chairman Shahriar Heydari stated on April 22 in response to Karimi Ghodousi’s tweet that Iran has no ”intention” to build or use nuclear weapons.[18] Heydari cited Khamenei’s 2003 fatwa as the reason Iran is not seeking to acquire or use nuclear weapons. Heydari stated that Karimi Ghodousi’s tweet may have been taken out of context.
Some Iranian regime hardliners have similarly begun openly discussing Iran's ability to procure a nuclear weapon. The Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Nuclear Security and Protection Corps Commander Brigadier General Ahmad Haghtalab announced on April 18 that Iran will change its “nuclear doctrine and policies” if an Israeli strike targeted Iran's nuclear facilities.[19] Haghtalab made these comments prior to the Israeli strike on April 19 that targeted a TOMB STONE radar at an Artesh base in Esfahan, 112 km south of Natanz Nuclear Complex. A former head of Iran's nuclear agency, Ali Akbar Salehi, implied during a televised interview in February 2024 that Iran could develop a nuclear bomb.[20] Unspecified officials and experts told the Washington Post on April 10 that Iran is closer to nuclear weapons capability now than at any prior time in Iranian history.[21] CTP-ISW noted in December 2023 that Iran's decision to increase its enrichment rate of 60 percent purity uranium was consistent with the long-standing CTP-ISW assessment that Iran has developed a nuclear program that it intends to use to produce a nuclear arsenal.[22]
The Iranian hardliners’ statements contradict Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s 2003 fatwa against the acquisition, development, and use of nuclear weapons.[23]
https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-april-22-2024
After being silent for a day with tons of comments on the tweet, https://twitter.com/Jkarimi_ir/status/1782314854377824618 Javad Karimi Ghodousi tweeted and changed the content to:
“If the permission is issued, it will take one week to conduct the first test of increasing the missile range to 12,000 km” nhttps://twitter.com/Jkarimi_ir/status/1782682696180695173
Yet, like those sales pitches for lite beer that promise all the taste but fewer calories than a traditional beer, being a virtual nuclear power may not work out in practice. Existing sanctions may be enforced with new rigor, and it is hard to imagine the Israelis not taking Iran at their word and attacking before Persia's Muslim crazies decide they want to try their nuclear fangs.
ping
..the pic of him raising his foot up waist high and kicking that little girl in the head and severely injuring her when all she was doing was working and trying to earn a little money just makes my blood boil!
Hardline Iranian parliamentarian Javad Karimi Ghodousi tweeted on April 23 that Iran would test a 12,000 km-range missile within one week if Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei grants permission.[71] This tweet followed Ghodousi’s previous tweet on April 22 that implied that Iran could test a nuclear bomb, rather than a missile, within one week.[72] International Atomic Energy Agency Director Rafael Grossi stated on April 23 that the normalization of talk about nuclear weapons is “absolutely deplorable.”[73]
The Iranian regime has reemphasized its commitment to enforcing its mandatory hijab law domestically. The Iranian Law Enforcement Command (LEC) unveiled a new plan on April 13 that would further compel Iranian women to adhere to the hijab requirement.[74] The plan, called Tarah-e Nour, includes the activation of a “new enforcement body” to confront unveiled women in public in “a more serious manner.”[75] The plan also further enables Iranian authorities to fine and arrest unveiled women.[76] Judiciary Chief Gholam Hossein Mohseni Ejei instructed the judiciary to “help” the LEC implement Tarah-e Nour on April 22.[77] Law Enforcement Commander Brig. Gen. Ahmad Reza Radan affirmed on April 23 that the LEC will continue to implement Tarah-e Nour with “strength, precision, and intelligence” and with support from the Iranian parliament, judiciary, and the Raisi administration.[78] Radan also stated that Tarah-e Nour is moving towards “intelligentization,” referring to the Iranian regime's efforts to use advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence and facial recognition, for enforcement activities.[79] Iranian social media users recently reported that some Iranian universities are using facial recognition technology to identify unveiled female students.[80]
Iranian Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Akbar Ahmadian traveled to St. Petersburg, Russia, on April 23 to attend the 12th Russian International Security Summit.[58] Ahmadian met with Iraqi National Security Adviser, Qasem Araji, on the sidelines of the summit on April 23.[59] Araji emphasized the importance of expelling US and international coalition forces from Iraq. Ahmadian and Araji also discussed the March 2023 security agreement between Iran and Iraq that requires Iraqi authorities to disarm and relocate members of Iranian Kurdish opposition groups away from Iran's borders.[60] Ahmadian will also meet with his Brazilian, Chinese, Indian, Russian, and South African counterparts during his visit to Russia.[61]
Full report https://www.understandingwar.org/backgrounder/iran-update-april-23-2024