Tel Aviv: Iran is making preparation for a quick assembly of a nuclear bomb in well protected underground sites. According to Iran international, the website operated from London by the opposition to the regime in Tehran , Ali-Akbar Salehi, the former head of Iran’s nuclear agency has implied in remarks broadcast on February 12 that Iran has everything it needs for an A-bomb.

In a televised interview, Salehi, who was also foreign minister (2010-2013), was asked if Iran has achieved the capability of developing a nuclear bomb. Avoiding a direct answer he stated, “We have [crossed] all the thresholds of nuclear science and technology. Here’s an example: Imagine what a car needs; it needs a chassis, an engine, a steering wheel, a gearbox. You’re asking if we’ve made the gearbox, I say yes. Have we made the engine? Yes, but each one serves its own purpose.”

According to the website, in January, a TV host in Iran suggested on an IRGC-affiliated channel that it is perhaps time to produce nuclear weapons, sparking controversy. The host, Hossein Hosseini, said, “Is it not time for Iran to produce its first nuclear weapon, given the ongoing conflict against Gaza and repeated threats from Israel?.” Eslami, in response, said that “the production of weapons of mass destruction has never been part of Iran’s defensive doctrine and is not aligned with its foreign policy,” despite the country’s ongoing enrichment effort.

Islamic Republic officials have repeatedly stated that according to a fatwa (Islamic decree) by the Supreme Leader, the construction of an atomic bomb is not on Tehran’s agenda. However, few in the international community believe in a fatwa that can be revoked at any moment.