Iran extolls deterrence of nuclear program on Trump's first day back

Iran's nuclear program is central to strengthening national security and deterring international threats, a top official said on Monday as hawkish President Donald Trump returned to the White House after repeatedly vowing to deny Tehran a bomb.

“Over the years, adversaries have tried to weaken Iran in this field and entangle the country in international issues," Behrouz Kamalvandi, the spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) said during a military conference in Tehran

"That is precisely why they do not want Iran to have full, indigenous control over it.”

Kamalvandi emphasized that the nuclear program not only strengthens Iran's international position but also drives domestic progress.

“This industry has significant impacts on people’s lives,” he added, highlighting applications for energy, medicine, agriculture, and environmental protection.

Iranian officials have repeatedly asserted that the country's nuclear program is peaceful, referring to a religious ruling by Khamenei prohibiting weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear bombs.

However, Kamalvandi's remarks emphasized its potential to create deterrence and balance power on the international stage, aligning it with broader security objectives.

“Power in today’s international world is distributed based on balance and realism. Islam recognized this long ago and considered power as a foundation for creating deterrence."

Iranian hardliners have previously advocated for developing nuclear weapons as a deterrent. Following Israeli airstrikes on October 26, Javan, a newspaper affiliated with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, urged Tehran to consider developing nuclear arms to counter external threats.

Last year in October, amid heightened tensions with Israel, thirty-nine Iranian lawmakers called on Iran's Supreme National Security Council to review the country's defense doctrine and consider adopting nuclear weapons.

Kamalvandi’s remarks come at a time when tensions with the United States are widely expected to escalate following Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Tehran has expressed concern that Trump’s administration might embolden Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to consider striking Iran’s nuclear facilities, further intensifying the region's volatile security dynamics.

Casting his vote on Election Day in November, Trump appeared to downplay any attempt to knock out Iran's ruling system but said Iran could not have nuclear arms.

“My terms are very easy,” Trump said, adding that Iran "can't have nuclear weapons." "I’d like them to be a very successful country,” he added, but declined to detail specific plans for US-Iran relations should he return to office.