On the brink of a new war, more and more Iranians are calling for a nuclear bomb, and calls for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons are getting stronger, from Friday sermons to street cows. The demand, which was once seen as a fringe class of hardliners, is moving to the center of public debate, with serious consequences for Iranian politics. "We must be equipped with nuclear weapons to fight criminal America with force, if it is God's will," said Ali Sephard, at Friday prayers in the city of Quhadat, last week. In a hall full of portraits of commanders killed in the war with the United States and Israel, the demonstrators chanted, "Nuclear deterrence is our inalienable right." For decades, senior Iranian officials have publicly supported Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's ban on the development and use of nuclear weapons. However, according to regional analysts, Khamenei's strategy was to keep Iran's nuclear program "Babol" - not to build a bomb, but not to abandon it completely to deter attacks. This strategy failed: Israel and the US have fought two wars against Iran since June 2025, and Khamenei himself died in February 2026. "He created this 'not outside' situation when they paid for a bomb they don't have," said analyst Mohammad Ali Shabani. Now there is a feeling that if you don't have such an absolute weapon, you can be at the mercy of not only the US, but Israel at any given moment. In addition to pastors, politicians joined the talks. The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Moussan Razai, confirmed yesterday that the leadership discussed the nuclear issue: "A new decision has not yet been made." Of course, there is a debate as to whether we want to maintain the same pre-war doctrine if war breaks out again.

On the brink of a new war, more and more Iranians are calling for a nuclear bomb, and calls for Iran to acquire nuclear weapons are getting stronger, from Friday sermons to street cows. The demand, which was once seen as a fringe class of hardliners, is moving to the center of public debate, with serious consequences for Iranian politics. "We must be equipped with nuclear weapons to fight criminal America with force, if it is God's will," said Ali Sephard, at Friday prayers in the city of Quhadat, last week. In a hall full of portraits of commanders killed in the war with the United States and Israel, the demonstrators chanted, "Nuclear deterrence is our inalienable right." For decades, senior Iranian officials have publicly supported Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's ban on the development and use of nuclear weapons. However, according to regional analysts, Khamenei's strategy was to keep Iran's nuclear program "Babol" - not to build a bomb, but not to abandon it completely to deter attacks. This strategy failed: Israel and the US have fought two wars against Iran since June 2025, and Khamenei himself died in February 2026. "He created this 'not outside' situation when they paid for a bomb they don't have," said analyst Mohammad Ali Shabani. Now there is a feeling that if you don't have such an absolute weapon, you can be at the mercy of not only the US, but Israel at any given moment. In addition to pastors, politicians joined the talks. The Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Moussan Razai, confirmed yesterday that the leadership discussed the nuclear issue: "A new decision has not yet been made." Of course, there is a debate as to whether we want to maintain the same pre-war doctrine if war breaks out again.