Latest news with #NationalSecurityandForeignPolicyCommittee
Miami Herald
2 days ago
- Business
- Miami Herald
Iran's Army Makes New Threat: 'War for 10 Years'
Iran says it could sustain a war for up to a decade, as the country moves to formalize plans for a major military expansion following its 12-day clash with Israel and the United States last month. "We have enough supplies to wage war for 10 years if necessary," said Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani, Iran's Deputy Chief of Staff. The comments come as Iranian lawmakers approved the general outlines of a bill aimed at expanding military readiness and increasing defense funding in response to threats from Israel. Newsweek has reached out to the State Department and Iran's foreign ministry for comment. The convergence of military rhetoric and legislative action highlights Tehran's evolving security doctrine after one of the most intense military confrontations in the region's recent history. With Israel and the U.S. targeting Iranian infrastructure, and Iran launching its largest-ever missile and drone salvo, the post-conflict period has become a platform for Iran to assert strategic endurance and rally political momentum for defense expansion. Speaking to state TV, Ashtiani said Iran had emerged from the June conflict with minimal equipment losses. He said that morale-not just firepower-will define future conflicts, arguing that Iran's adversaries lack the will to fight. Ashtiani described Iranian forces as experienced, well-equipped, and psychologically prepared for prolonged confrontation. "What truly matters is morale. They say morale is three-fourths of the fight. Our armed forces are experienced, well-trained, equipped with modern systems, and maintain high morale," he said. "They may have equipment, but they don't have the will." On Sunday, Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee approved the outline of a draft bill to strengthen the armed forces in response to Israeli threats. The bill is now under review by the committee's defense subcommittee. The measure follows a 200 percent defense budget increase announced in October 2024, raising next year's spending estimate to $46 billion. Meanwhile, Iran's Fars news agency reported that Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian was injured during an Israeli attack on a secret underground facility in Tehran on June 16. According to Fars, six bombs struck all access points and the ventilation system, cutting power and trapping those inside. Pezeshkian sustained leg injuries while escaping through an emergency shaft. The report remains unverified, and Israel has not commented. In a recent interview with Tucker Carlson, a prominent political commentator, Pezeshkian claimed that Israel tried to assassinate him during its 12-day war with Iran. Iran's Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Ashtiani: "We have enough supplies to wage war for ten years if necessary. They may have equipment, but they don't have the will." Iran's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee spokesperson: "The general outlines of the bill to strengthen the armed approved." Iran's military draft bill now moves into its review phase, with final revisions expected before a full parliamentary vote. If passed, it will codify a significant shift in Iran's defense posture, combining post-conflict momentum with a record military budget and formalized institutional backing. Related Articles Iran and China Challenge US as Alliance GrowsSatellite Images Show Damage From Iran Strike on US Air BaseIran Sets New Terms for Nuclear Talks With Official Issues New Warning About Iran's Nuclear Threat 2025 NEWSWEEK DIGITAL LLC.
Saba Yemen
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Saba Yemen
Iran: Preliminary parliamentary approval for bill to suspend cooperation with IAEA
Tehran – Saba: The spokesperson for the National Security and Foreign Policy Committee of the Iranian Islamic Consultative Assembly announced that the committee approved, during its meeting on Monday, the general framework of a draft bill requiring the government to suspend cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). In a statement to the Iranian "Tasnim" news agency, the spokesperson clarified that "committee members voted in favor of the bill's principle" without providing additional details regarding its provisions or implementation mechanism. He added that discussions on the bill's detailed articles would continue at a later stage. Whatsapp Telegram Email Print
Newsweek
22-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Iran Lawmakers Eye Page From North Korea Nuclear Playbook After US Strikes
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A senior Iranian lawmaker has stated that fellow members of the Islamic Republic's parliament were considering a withdrawal from a multilateral treaty aimed at curbing the proliferation of nuclear weapons after a series of unprecedented U.S. strikes. To date, North Korea is the only nation to have acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and subsequently withdraw. One other country, South Sudan, opted not to accede to the treaty after gaining independence from Sudan in 2011, joining India, Israel and Pakistan as the world's only non-NPT states. Pyongyang officially left the NPT in January 2003, just two months before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, citing concerns that the United States was planning a preemptive attack against North Korea, and went on to conduct the nation's first nuclear weapons test in 2006. Iran has always denied seeking nuclear weapons and has yet to signal any shift in its official doctrine. However, officials and lawmakers have increasingly questioned the nation's commitment to the NPT and other international obligations in the wake of a campaign of strikes launched by Israel last week and joined by the U.S. on Saturday. In what may be the most serious indication that such a move was being weighed, the semiofficial Tasnim News Agency cited Ebrahim Rezaei, spokesperson for the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, as saying Sunday that "a review of the NPT treaty and Iran's non-membership in it were among the common demands" of lawmakers, which "are scheduled to be on the parliament's agenda." He also said that "most members of the committee strongly criticized the performance of the International Atomic Energy Agency and called for the cessation of cooperation or suspension of relations with this institution." Newsweek has reached out to the Iranian Mission to the United Nations and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for comment. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addresses members of parliament in Tehran on March 2. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian addresses members of parliament in Tehran on March 2. ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images Rezaei has previously urged for Iran's withdrawal from the NPT on several occasions amid the deepening Iran-Israel conflict that has rocked the region since the Palestinian Hamas movement's surprise attack against Israel on October 7, 2023. He has reiterated this call after Israel commenced a still-ongoing series of strikes targeting facilities and personnel tied to Iran's armed forces and nuclear program last Thursday. According to Article X of the NPT, which first came to effect in 1970, "each Party shall in exercising its national sovereignty have the right to withdraw from the Treaty if it decides that extraordinary events, related to the subject matter of this Treaty, have jeopardized the supreme interests of its country." In such a scenario, the country "shall give notice of such withdrawal to all other parties to the Treaty and to the United Nations Security Council three months in advance," including "a statement of the extraordinary events it regards as having jeopardized its supreme interests." Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei stated last Monday that Tehran would "take an appropriate decision" in relation to Iran's NPT membership amid the Israeli strikes and that a bill was being prepared in parliament. Still, he emphasized Iran's public commitment against developing nuclear weapons. Despite Iranian denials, Israeli officials have alleged that Iran had already obtained enough nuclear material to produce up to 15 nuclear weapons. The country has ramped up enrichment since President Donald Trump withdrew from a multilateral nuclear deal with Iran and major powers in 2018. As of March, U.S. Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Tulsi Gabbard had assessed that Iran was not actively pursuing a nuclear weapon. Trump has since repeatedly characterized her assessment as "wrong" as he defended Israel's campaign, which came in the midst of U.S.-Iran nuclear talks, and prepared to order U.S. strikes against three key Iranian nuclear facilities in Isfahan, Fordow and Natanz. Despite the official ban, debate has intensified in Iran about the prospect of obtaining a nuclear weapon throughout the worsening conflict with Israel, with which Iran had twice traded direct strikes prior to the current battle. Iranian experts and former officials have previously told Newsweek such a move could not be ruled in the event that the Islamic Republic's leadership felt the survival of the state was under threat. Last week, Tehran-based security analyst Alireza Taghavania told Newsweek that the Israeli operations, backed by Trump, have "strengthened the position of those in Iran who wanted to build nuclear weapons," and that, "Now, most Iranians want to build nuclear weapons." In May 2024, the Iranian Mission to the U.N. told Newsweek that "in the event of an attack on Iran's nuclear facilities, all of which are subject to monitoring and inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency, there exists a possibility of Iran reconsidering its collaboration within the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA." The IAEA is the U.N.'s nuclear watchdog and is tasked with verifying the compliance of member states with the NPT. IAEA Director General Rafael Grossi had previously accused Iran of failing to uphold its non-proliferation agreements, though he has also warned that "attacks on nuclear sites in the Islamic Republic of Iran have caused a sharp degradation in nuclear safety and security in Iran." "A diplomatic solution is within reach if the necessary political will is there. Elements for an agreement have been discussed," Grossi told an emergency U.N. Security Council session on Friday, a day before the U.S. strikes in Iran. "The IAEA can guarantee, through a watertight inspections system, that nuclear weapons will not be developed in Iran. They can form the basis of a long-standing agreement that brings peace and avoids a nuclear crisis in the Middle East." "This opportunity should not be missed," he added. "The alternative would be a protracted conflict and a looming threat of nuclear proliferation that, while emanating from the Middle East, would effectively erode the NPT and the non-proliferation regime as a whole." The U.S. strikes have divided the world's eight other nuclear powers. China, Russia and Pakistan have condemned the strikes; the United Kingdom offered cautious support and joined France and India in calling for de-escalation and a return to diplomacy, while Israel has praised Trump's move. North Korea has yet to issue an official response to the U.S. raid but has repeatedly condemned Israel's operations in Iran as well as U.S. support for them. "The international community is strictly watching the U.S. and Western forces who fan up the flames of war by taking issue with the legitimate sovereign right and the exercise of the right to self-defence of Iran, the victim, far from condemning Israel for getting frantic with the territorial expansion, pushing the situation in the Middle East to an uncontrollable catastrophic phase," a North Korean Foreign Ministry spokesperson said in a statement published Thursday. The spokesperson added: "The Zionists who brought a new war to the Middle East and the behind-the-scene forces who zealously patronize and support them will be held totally responsible for destroying international peace and security." Meanwhile, Russian Security Council Deputy Chair Dmitry Medvedev said on Sunday that among the consequences of the U.S. attacks would be "the enrichment of nuclear material—and, now we can say it outright, the future production of nuclear weapons—will continue."
Jordan News
31-05-2025
- Politics
- Jordan News
Trump on Negotiations with Iran: We Don't Want the Military Option - Jordan News
U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday, 'It would be great if we could reach an agreement with Iran without dropping bombs all over the Middle East.' اضافة اعلان Speaking at a press conference at the White House, Trump added: 'Iran must not be allowed to possess a nuclear weapon—it's as simple as that,' emphasizing that while Iran wants a deal, 'the United States does not want the military option.' This statement coincided with remarks reported by Iran's Fars News Agency, quoting an Iranian official who said that 'the U.S. president's threat to destroy Iran's nuclear facilities is a clear red line and will have serious consequences.' The official added, 'If the United States is truly seeking a diplomatic solution, it must abandon the language of threats and sanctions,' calling such threats 'a blatant act of hostility against Iran's national interests.' Meanwhile, Vahid Ahmadi, a member of the Iranian Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, suggested that Tehran may reach a 'temporary and limited agreement' with the United States as part of ongoing indirect talks between the two sides.
Shafaq News
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Shafaq News
Ex-Iranian official: Trump stopped Yemen war raising nuclear deal odds
Shafaq News/ A former Iranian official said Tuesday that US de-escalation in Yemen reflects fears of a wider conflict sparked by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. In an interview with Shafaq News, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, former head of the Iranian parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said the 'likelihood of a nuclear agreement between Tehran and Washington has increased.' His remarks come amid renewed signals from Iranian officials suggesting momentum toward reviving nuclear diplomacy with the United States. Falahatpisheh linked the shift in US posture to broader regional dynamics, stating Trump 'understands that Netanyahu is adept at starting wars but unable to control them.' He warned that a large-scale conflict in the Middle East would severely damage US economic interests in the region, adding that this strategic calculation has prompted Washington to reduce tensions in Yemen and explore the possibility of a new agreement with Iran.
