Will be ready if Iran shifts nuclear doctrine: IRGC

IRGC Spokesman Announces Iran's Readiness for Changes to Nuclear Doctrine If Supreme Leader Decides.

The Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) Spokesperson Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi stated that if Tehran opts to alter its nuclear doctrine, the needed preparations would be made.

"If the country's leadership decides to revise its nuclear doctrine, the necessary preparations will be made," he stressed on Saturday, according to Fars News Agency.

The comment does not announce a change in policy, and Mohebbi did not say what a revised doctrine would involve.

Last week, Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Major General Mohsen Rezaei stated that Iranian officials were weighing potential changes to its nuclear policy, but that no decision had been made.

Tehran has invariably asserted that its nuclear program is aimed at purely peaceful purposes and that it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons.

The late Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has even issued a fatwa (religious decree) declaring that the acquisition, development, and use of nuclear weapons violate Islamic principles and are therefore forbidden.

A nuclear doctrine refers broadly to how a country views nuclear weapons, including whether it intends to develop, possess or potentially use them.

Iran's longstanding position has been that it does not want nuclear weapons. But the issue has become increasingly sensitive after years of confrontation with Israel and the US over the nuclear programme. The situation has become even more tense following the recent US military escalation against Iran.