In response to a TASS request to comment on Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s statement that the kingdom would seek nuclear weapons if Iran developed them, Lavrov noted that he took it as “a statement of fact.”
“No one wants more nuclear countries to emerge in the world. The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly confirmed that it does not have such plans. Their spiritual leader even issued a fatwa on the matter,” the top Russian diplomat emphasized.
“This is why we believe that since they will not have a nuclear bomb, Iran’s neighbors will not be tempted to take that path,” he added.
The Saudi crown prince noted in an interview with the US TV channel Fox News that Riyadh was “concerned if any country getting a nuclear weapon: that’s a bad move.”
MbS has asked the Joe Biden administration “to help his country develop a civilian nuclear program, which some US officials fear could be cover for a nuclear weapons program to counter Iran”.
Tehran has repeatedly declared that its nuclear program remains purely peaceful as always and that the Islamic Republic had no intention of developing nuclear weapons as a matter of an Islamic and state principal.
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei issued an official fatwa (religious decree) clearly establishing that any form of acquisition, development, and use of nuclear weapons violate Islamic principles and are therefore forbidden.
