With Lebanese Hezbollah—a key element of Iran’s defense strategy and its main deterrent against Israel and, indirectly, the U.S.—struggling, Iran’s state-controlled media are openly discussing nuclear breakout as a way to restore the balance of terror. Remarkably, Iranian lawmakers are participating in this debate. On October 9, 39 members of parliament sent a letter to the Supreme National Security Council calling for a “revision of Iran’s nuclear doctrine.” Ahmad Bakhsheyesh Ardestani, a member of the parliamentary National Security and Foreign Affairs Committee, echoed this sentiment in a recent interview with the reformist newspaper Shargh, emphasizing Iran’s need to develop a nuclear weapon. He also delivered a few comments concerning the necessity for Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to revise his so-called nuclear fatwa, or religious edict, which undermine the Iranian leader's religious authority. Everyone has now an opinion on fatwas!
