Iran nuclear chief denies Iran threatened to build bomb if attacked

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization on Tuesday rejected comments by the UN nuclear watchdog chief suggesting Iran had warned it might pursue a nuclear weapon if attacked by Israel.

“No one in Iran has said that if Israel attacks, we will build a nuclear bomb,” Mohammad Eslami said in a televised interview. “As far as I know, such a statement has never been made.”

His remarks followed comments by International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Rafael Grossi, who told Israeli broadcaster i24News: “Such an attack might have an amalgamating effect which would make a determination on the part of Iran to go to a nuclear weapon or to abandon the treaty on non-proliferation. I’m telling you this because they have told me.”

Eslami said Iran's military had previously warned of a response to any attack on its nuclear sites, but dismissed the idea that it included nuclear weapons. “There was a warning last year, when Israeli officials said they would strike our nuclear facilities. Our armed forces said they would respond in kind—but nothing more,” he said.