Iran's position against developing nuclear weapons will not change significantly, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in an interview with Qatari television "Al Jazeera", BTA reported.
The new Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, Mojtaba Khamenei, has not yet expressed his views on the issue, Araghchi said.
Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed at the start of the US-Israeli war against Iran, issued a fatwa (religious edict) against weapons of mass destruction more than twenty years ago. Western countries, including the United States and Israel, have accused Tehran for years of seeking to develop nuclear weapons, while the Islamic Republic says its program is for peaceful purposes only.
Araghchi said the fatwas depend on the Islamic legal context in which they were issued, and added that he could not judge the legal or political views of the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei.
The Iranian diplomat believes that after the war is over, Gulf states should develop a new protocol for the Strait of Hormuz to ensure safe navigation in the sea route and reflect the interests of Iran and the region.
Tehran has closed the Strait of Hormuz, through which about 20% of international oil and liquefied gas supplies pass, and has vowed not to allow "a single liter" of these commodities to reach the United States, Israel or their partners. The Speaker of the Iranian Parliament, Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, wrote yesterday on the social network "Ex" that the war has irrevocably changed the situation in the strait.
The United States tried to form a naval coalition to escort tankers in the Gulf, but most NATO countries said they did not want to participate in military operations against Iran. France announced that it would consider the possibility of participating in such an international coalition only after a ceasefire and after preliminary negotiations with Tehran.
According to Araghchi, an end to the war is possible only if military actions are stopped in the entire region and if Iran receives compensation for the damage caused to it.
Araghchi was also asked why Iranian strikes in the Persian Gulf are aimed not only at American military bases, but also at residential and commercial areas. He replied that some of the American military forces are deployed in urban areas. "The American forces will be attacked wherever they gather, whatever facilities they control. It is possible that some of these places are close to urban areas", Araghchi said. He acknowledged that countries in the region were "upset and their peoples were affected" by the Iranian strikes, but added that the blame for this lies entirely with the United States, which started the war.
The foreign minister also commented on the assassination of the head of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Ali Larijani, and other senior figures, indicating that this will not stop Tehran's operations. Araghchi noted that new people are quickly appointed to replace the killed senior figures. According to him, the US and Israel do not understand that the Islamic Republic has a stable political system that does not depend on individuals.
The death of senior officials does not cause disruptions in governance and the state continues to function, Araghchi stressed.
Earlier today, Iranian state television reported that Tehran had fired missiles with cluster warheads at Tel Aviv in response to Larijani's assassination.