On Friday, an Iranian parliament member announced that his nation might currently have several nuclear weapons, according to Iran-based news agency Rouydad 24. Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani made the comments immediately following the recent assessment of the United Nations' atomic watchdog agency warning that Iran has enough nuclear material for "several" nuclear weapons. 

"In my opinion, we have achieved nuclear weapons, but we do not announce it. It means our policy is to possess nuclear bombs, but our declared policy is currently within the framework of the JCPOA," Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani told the Iran-based outlet Rouydad 24 on Friday, according to an article published by the independent news organization Iran International in London.

The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal designation for the Iran nuclear deal that was signed in 2015 by Iran and several world powers, including the United States, provided massive economic sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for assurances it would not, within a limited period, build a nuclear weapon. Former President Donald Trump's administration withdrew the U.S. from the deal in 2018, saying the agreement would never prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons. 

Ardestani was re-elected to Iran’s quasi-parliament in March of 2024 and argued that when other countries confront each other, their capabilities need to be the same, citing the Israeli and American nuclear capabilities as a reason for Iran to have nuclear weapons.

The Iranian parliament member noted, "In a climate where Russia has attacked Ukraine and Israel has attacked Gaza, and Iran is a staunch supporter of the Resistance Front, it is natural for the containment system to require that Iran possess nuclear bombs. However, whether Iran declares it is another matter."

American and other nations' intelligence sources all share the same assessment of Ardestani's statements—that they are most likely speculative but must be considered seriously nonetheless. Ardestani is merely a member of parliament and not an inner-circle member of the Iranian nuclear decision-making apparatus. However, only a few days prior, the president of the Iranian Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Kamal Kharrazi, announced to Al-Jazeera Network Qatar that Iran had the capability to produce nuclear weapons two years ago and currently maintains that ability. 

I announced two years ago, in an interview with Al-Jazeera TV, that Iran had the absorptive capacity and the capability to produce a nuclear bomb. Iran still has that capability, but we have not made the decision to produce a nuclear bomb. However, if the Iranian interests are threatened in this manner, we may change this doctrine. The military officials in Iran have announced that if our nuclear facilities would be attacked, we may change our military doctrine, with regard to the nuclear facilities.

Jason Brodsky, the policy director of the U.S.-based United Against a Nuclear Iran, shared growing concerns about an Iranian government that is inching toward a possible change in their policy regarding a potential attack from Israel. 

"Kharrazi’s comments are part of an increasingly loud chorus of threats from Iranian officials that they will change Iran’s nuclear doctrine if Israel attacks them. The current advanced state of Iran’s nuclear program provides it with the luxury to make these threats as it hopes to deter Western policymakers from launching pressure campaigns on Tehran."

Growing numbers of critics of President Biden's administration and its current Iran strategy, which aims more for a de-escalation and containment policy instead of a more hardline approach, say that it is failing miserably. Iran, which is the world's biggest state-sponsor of terrorism across the globe, is making extremely long and fast strides in their attempt at fielding, nuclear weapons. David Wurmser, a former senior adviser for nonproliferation and Middle East strategy for former Vice President Dick Cheney, believes that Iran is still a ways away from actually producing, let alone fielding nuclear weapons, but is warning caution. 

The distance from where Iran is purported to be to an actual deliverable device is still a ways away, provided the information that we have in our operating from is correct. And that is quite a proviso. We know that North Koreans have been interacting with the Iranians, and we know relations with North Korea go back many, many years. As since intelligence is generally incomplete and is inherently seeking to discover that which is given to being opaque with much hidden, we have to assume surprises. I realize in the Iraq war we imagined there was more there than there actually was – and there was more than what is popularly understood – but Iraq is actually a very rare circumstance. The Pakistani, the Russian, the Chinese, the Indian, and even the South African programs all were ahead of what we had expected when they were exposed. For that matter, that was the case with Libya as well.

However, the Institute for the Study of War, which is based in Washington D.C., thinks Iran is closer to producing nuclear weapons or has already procured them. There is no consensus on whether or not Iran has the ability or capability to produce these weapons. For the moment, however, neither Iran nor the United States has publicly announced or confirmed that the Iranian regime has nuclear weapons or has the ability to manufacture them.