Iranian MP says Russia may be willing to give Tehran nuclear weapons
A hardline Iranian lawmaker on Monday cited months-old comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as a sign Moscow might be prepared to provide Iran with nuclear weapons.
A hardline Iranian lawmaker on Monday cited months-old comments by former Russian President Dmitry Medvedev as a sign Moscow might be prepared to provide Iran with nuclear weapons.
Kamran Ghazanfari said Russia and China would support Iran’s potential withdrawal from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), adding that the move would increase the country’s “nuclear and military capability.”
"China and Russia support this decision (to withdrawal from the NPT). Medvedev, Putin’s deputy, even hinted indirectly that Russia is willing to provide Iran with nuclear weapons," he said in an interview with the Iran24 news outlet.
Medvedev, an arch-hawk who serves as deputy chairman of Russia's Security Council, had written in a post on X in June that "a number of countries are ready to directly supply Iran with their own nuclear warheads."
US President Donald Trump had pounced on the comments, promptly saying in his own post on social media that Medvedev was "casually throwing around the 'N word' (Nuclear!), and saying that he and other Countries would supply Nuclear Warheads to Iran." The former Russian president quickly clarified that Moscow would not do so.
Iran’s parliament in May approved a 20-year strategic partnership with Russia. The agreement lacks a mutual defense clause but it commits both nations to military-technical cooperation, joint exercises, and coordination against shared threats.
Moscow offered Tehran little concrete support during a US-Israeli military campaign in June in which Iranian nuclear sites were attacked.
Iran denies seeking a nuclear weapon but Israel and Western countries doubt its intentions.
Ghazanfari's remarks come as another Iranian lawmaker on Saturday said Tehran is considering suspending or withdrawing from the NPT following a Western-backed resolution passed by the UN atomic watchdog last week.
Amir Hayat-Moghaddam, a member of parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Committee said the option is “on the table” and under expert review.
“Several meetings have been held since the IAEA Board of Governors adopted its anti-Iran resolution,” he said, adding a final decision could be announced by Tuesday.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the main global accord aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, allowing peaceful nuclear activity under international supervision, and committing signatories to eventual disarmament.
Iran has been a party to the NPT since 1970. Officials in Tehran have described NPT membership as a sign of Iran’s commitment to peaceful nuclear energy, but they have also warned that continued political pressure could force a policy review.
Under the NPT, to which Iran, China and Russia are signatories, Iran is prohibited from receiving nuclear weapons. Nuclear-armed states such as Russia and China are barred from transferring them.
