Iran Says it Has Enough Deterrence Without Nukes

Saturday, 31 January 2026 6:16 PM

The head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) says that the country is fully capable of defending itself without any need for nuclear weapons, amid heightened regional tensions that have raised the specter of military confrontation between Iran and the United States.

“From a strategic standpoint and given the capabilities that Iran enjoys, we basically have no need for nuclear weapons and we are capable of defending our country and have the necessary deterrence,” said Mohammad Eslami in an interview with the Avash news platform published on Saturday.

He made the remarks in response to a question on whether Iran should move toward acquiring nuclear weapons, considering the attacks it has faced from the US and Israel, and in light of the growing efforts by both countries to foment unrest in Iran and destabilize its ruling system.

In the interview, Eslami discussed a wide range of issues, including Iran’s future nuclear plans and its approach to cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

He said the number of people employed in Iran’s current and ongoing nuclear projects, including two newly planned nuclear power plants, had increased from just 400 in 2022 to 6,000 this year.

The official said that the country was prepared to hand over its stockpile of 60% enriched uranium to prevent the re-imposition of United Nations nuclear sanctions before late September last year.

However, the AEOI chief said that the sanctions were re-imposed, and Iran no longer feels obligated to stop enriching uranium to nearly 60%, which it requires for manufacturing nuclear propulsion fuel.

He added that the IAEA has been regularly inspecting Iran’s nuclear sites, except for locations that were targeted by the US during a 12-day conflict between Iran and the Israeli regime in June.