Admiral Ali Shamkhani, a member of Iran’s Expediency Council and National Security Advisor, said in a recent TV interview that he regrets not pursuing nuclear weapons during his tenure as defense minister under President Khatami in the 1990s.
Shamkhani also said in the interview that Iran should have developed nuclear capability and confirmed that, given the chance, he would “absolutely” have pursued it.
He added that Iran must now focus on developing an independent, cohesive defense system and that the 12-Day war with Israel has made the pursuit of nuclear weapons more urgent.
The interview with Shamkhani aired on October 12, 2025 on On-News.ir and was translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).
To the question of whether he was pursuing the development of a nuclear bomb while in the Ministry of Defense, Shamkhani replied, “I wish I had. I was the Defense Minister, during the Khatami administration. The Khatami government did not think of this.”
The interviewer asked, “Are you saying that in the 1990s when you were Defense Minister, you never considered developing a nuclear bomb?” and Shamkhani replied, “I wish I had…Today, it is evident that Iran should have developed this capability itself.”
He was then asked, If you could go back in time to the 1990s and become Defense Minister again, would you pursue nuclear weapons?” and replied, “Yes, absolutely.”
