VP Zarif: Iran never pursued nuclear weapons

Shafaq News/ Iran has increased its nuclear capabilities since the United States withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran's Vice-President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday.

"We were a year away from a nuclear weapon when [John] Bolton wrote a memorandum to get [Donald] Trump out. And today, even the Americans say we are a few days away," Zarif said at the World Economic Forum in Davos.

Rejecting Israel’s claims that Iran is close to developing nuclear weapons, he said, “Iran has never sought nuclear weapons…These weapons are developed in secret laboratories, not through open programs like ours,” he explained.

While Iran maintains that its nuclear program is strictly for civilian purposes, US intelligence agencies and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have reported military nuclear activities in Iran until 2003. These reports also suggest that Iran’s recent activities go “beyond civilian necessity.”

Conversely, Israel accuses Iran of concealing nuclear facilities in fortified mountains and continuing efforts to develop nuclear weapons.

Notably, tensions have escalated since the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 under President Donald Trump.

The JCPOA, signed in 2015 between Iran and the P5+1 nations (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany), aimed to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions. Iran agreed to cap uranium enrichment, reduce its nuclear stockpile, and allow IAEA inspections.

Following the US exit, Iran gradually ceased compliance with the JCPOA, significantly increasing its uranium enrichment.

By 2025, Iran has stockpiled approximately 200 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60% purity, nearing the 90% required for weapons-grade material.