World
Iranian lawmaker declares Tehran obtained nuclear bombs
JERUSALEM – After the head of the United Nation’s atomic watchdog agency warned that Iran has enough uranium to produce “several” nuclear bombs, a firebrand Iranian lawmaker declared on Friday that the Islamic Republic of Iran possesses atomic 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 JCPOA is an abbreviation for the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the formal name for the Iran nuclear deal. President Trump withdrew the U.S. from the JCPOA in 2018 because, his administration argued, the accord did not stop Iran’s drive to build atomic weapons.
The JCPOA provides massive economic sanctions relief to Iran in exchange for assurances it will not, within a limited time period, build a nuclear weapon.
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Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei addresses the media during parliamentary elections in Tehran on May 10, 2024. (Fatemeh Bahrami/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Ardestani, who was re-elected to Iran’s quasi-parliament in March, added, “The reason is that when countries want to confront others, their capabilities must be compatible, and Iran’s compatibility with America and Israel means that Iran must 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.” Fox News Digital sent press queries to Iran’s Foreign Ministry in Tehran and its U.N. mission in New York.
Experts on Iran’s illegal nuclear weapons program warned about the seemingly speculative comments made by Ardestani. Jason Brodsky, the policy director of the U.S.-based United Against a Nuclear Iran, told Fox News Digital that “Ardestani is only a member of parliament, and he’s not in the inner core of the regime’s nuclear decision-making circle, so while his comments are interesting, I think they have to be weighed properly given his access and standing.”
Just two days before Ardestani’s announcement, the president of the Iranian Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, Kamal Kharrazi, told Al-Jazeera Network Qatar, “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.” The U.S.-based Middle East Media Institute (MEMRI) translated and published Kharrazi’s May 8 interview.
WORLD LEADERS COLLECTIVELY CONDEMN IRAN’S ‘RECKLESS’ ATTACK AGAINST ISRAEL: ‘WE SUPPORT ISRAEL’
Kamal Kharrazi speaks at a panel on March 27, 2022. (Karim Jaafar/AFP via Getty Images)
Brodsky said, “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.”
Critics of the Biden administration’s Iran policy argue the White House strategy of de-escalation and containment targeting Iran’s atomic program has backfired. Iran’s regime – the world’s worst state-sponsor of international terrorism – is moving at an astonishingly fast pace to secure an operational nuclear weapon.
Nuclear security alarm bells are ringing over Iran’s illicit atomic program in Europe. Fox News Digital obtained the April intelligence agency report for Germany’s most populous state, Nordrhein-Westfalen.
The German intelligence report notes, “The Islamic Republic’s continued intensive procurement efforts by Iran in Germany continues” for its “nuclear and missile program.” The German experts added “proliferation-relevant activities by Iran to circumvent existing sanctions in favor of Iran’s nuclear and missile programs can still be assumed.” A State Department spokesperson previously told Fox News Digital, “As the president and the secretary have made clear, the United States will ensure one way or another that Iran will never obtain a nuclear weapon. We continue to use a variety of tools in pursuit of that goal, and all options remain on the table.”
David Wurmser, a former senior adviser for nonproliferation and Middle East strategy for former Vice President Dick Cheney, told Fox News Digital, “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.”
The communist state of North Korea previously aided Syria in building its illicit nuclear reactor. Israel’s air force knocked out the reactor in 2007.
IRAN’S ‘NUCLEAR ENERGY MOUNTAIN’ IS ‘FULLY SAFE’ AFTER ISRAELI STRIKE: STATE MEDIA
David Wurmser, former senior adviser for nonproliferation and Middle East strategy for former Vice President Dick Cheney, in Washington D.C. (David Howells/Corbis via Getty Images)
Wurmser warned, “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.”
The non-proliferation expert noted, “So, on balance, I doubt Iran has a nuclear weapon yet, but I also doubt that the program is in a stable state, even a stable state regarding weaponization. I think Iran is pushing ahead and has every intention to go all the way. So time on this may still be there, but it is short and running out fast. And of course, the consequences of an Iranian bomb are catastrophic for the region, for Israel’s survival, and for the status of American power in the globe.”
The recent saber-rattling over Iran’s nuclear weapons program from regime officials and lawmakers coincides with International Atomic Energy Agency chief Rafael Grossi’s May 8 statement that his organization was working “very hard with [Iran] to prevent [nuclear weaponization] from happening.”
The Washington D.C.-based Institute for the Study of War wrote this suggests “that Iran has already obtained or is close to obtaining the ability to procure nuclear weapons.” The U.S. State Department did not immediately respond to a Fox News Digital press query.
By Euronews
Published on
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte rejected proposals for independent European security structures, insisting the EU does not need to break from the US on defence matters despite calls from senior European politicians.
Manfred Weber, head of the conservative EPP party and its European Parliament group, had called for deploying European troops under EU command to secure peace in Ukraine.
“I wish that soldiers with the European flag on their uniforms, together with our Ukrainian friends, would ensure peace,” Weber told German media outlet Funke.
Rutte disagreed with the proposal in an interview with German news agency dpa published Thursday.
“I’m absolutely convinced that the US is completely invested in NATO. There’s no doubt. There was one big expectation. Indeed, us spending more, Europe taking more responsibility,” Rutte said.
The NATO chief emphasised that increased European defence efforts should occur alongside the US, not independently.
“When we talk about Europe and NATO, it’s more than just the EU,” Rutte said, noting that the 23 EU countries within NATO account for only about a quarter of the alliance’s total economic output.
US and Europe to work together
Rutte pointed to shared US-European interests in defending the Arctic and North Atlantic.
“The US has its own specific interests in NATO, which is, of course, Europe staying safe, but also the Arctic. A safe Arctic is crucial for the United States, and we can only defend that together, European and American NATO allies.”
“The Arctic is a big issue. We see Chinese and Russian ships travelling there. And we can only defend the Arctic together – European and American NATO allies together.”
The NATO secretary general warned that Russia could pose a serious threat as early as 2027, according to some intelligence assessments.
“I will not speculate on where and when and how exactly. In the end, if there is an attack on NATO, then we are all under attack – because that is Article 5, which means that an attack on one is an attack on all,” Rutte said.
“If we do those two things, we are strong enough to defend ourselves, and Putin will never try,” he stated, referring to maintaining strong support for Ukraine and increasing NATO defence spending.
In the interview on Thursday, Rutte praised Germany’s commitment to reaching 3.5% of GDP on defence by 2029, ahead of the 2035 deadline agreed at the alliance’s summit in The Hague in June.
He called Germany’s approach “very impressive” and said Berlin was “leading the pack” among European allies.
Additional sources • AP, dpa
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Nigeria said it shared intelligence with the U.S. ahead of Christmas night airstrikes on ISIS targets in the country.
The Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed on Friday that it was “engaged in structured security cooperation” with other nations, including the U.S., adding that the cooperation “led to precision hits on terrorist targets.” The ministry said that the joint security efforts include the sharing of intelligence and strategic coordination.
“Nigeria reiterates that all counter-terrorism efforts are guided by the primacy of protecting civilian lives, safeguarding national unity, and upholding the rights and dignity of all citizens, irrespective of faith or ethnicity. Terrorist violence in any form whether directed at Christians, Muslims, or other communities remains an affront to Nigeria’s values and to international peace and security,” the ministry wrote in a statement posted on X.
TRUMP’S WARNING TO NIGERIA OFFERS HOPE TO NATION’S PERSECUTED CHRISTIANS
Members of St. Leo Catholic Church hold a procession to mark Palm Sunday in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria, on April 13, 2025. (Adekunle Ajayi/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump announced the Christmas night airstrikes in northwest Nigeria, saying the targets were ISIS militants who he accused of killing Christians. The president also included a warning that further attacks would take place if the violence against Christians continued.
“Tonight, at my direction as Commander in Chief, the United States launched a powerful and deadly strike against ISIS Terrorist Scum in Northwest Nigeria, who have been targeting and viciously killing, primarily, innocent Christians, at levels not seen for many years, and even Centuries!” Trump said Thursday on Truth Social.
“I have previously warned these Terrorists that if they did not stop the slaughtering of Christians, there would be hell to pay, and tonight, there was. The Department of War executed numerous perfect strikes, as only the United States is capable of doing.
“Under my leadership, our Country will not allow Radical Islamic Terrorism to prosper,” he continued. “May God Bless our Military, and MERRY CHRISTMAS to all, including the dead Terrorists, of which there will be many more if their slaughter of Christians continues.”
A drone view of Christians departing St. Peter and Paul Catholic Church after a Sunday mass in Palmgrove, Lagos, Nigeria, Nov. 2, 2025. (Sodiq Adelakun/Reuters)
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In a statement to Fox News Digital, Christian charity, Open Doors said its sources in Nigeria said, “the airstrikes have hit terrorist camps in Jabo, a rural community in Tambuwal Local Government Area of Sokoto State, with multiple ISIS militants reportedly killed.
Jabo is a predominantly Fulani town in Sokoto State and has been identified as a haven for militants and a link to neighboring states like Kebbi and Zamfara. To the best of our knowledge there is no church presence in Jabo.
Right now, there are fears of retaliation because of the airstrike.”
Open Doors is a global Christian charity supporting Christians persecuted for their faith.
Gunmen pick up the belongings left behind by worshippers who ran for cover after hearing gunshots, as they walk into a Church in Eruku, Kwara state, Nigeria, November 18, 2025, in this picture obtained from social media. (Social media/via Reuters)
US AMBASSADOR MICHAEL WALTZ DECLARES ATROCITIES AGAINST CHRISTIANS IN NIGERIA ‘GENOCIDE’
U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Mike Waltz, who has been outspoken about the violence against Christians in Nigeria, praised the strikes. The ambassador said the precision strikes showed Christians in Nigeria and around the world that Trump would “fight for them.”
Last month, Trump threatened to “do things in Nigeria that Nigeria is not going to be happy about” and “go into that now disgraced country guns-a-blazing.”
That warning set the stage for the Christmas-night strikes, which Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said fulfilled the president’s demand that the killings stop. Hegseth also included in a post on X a reference to the U.S.-Nigeria cooperation that led to the strikes.
“The President was clear last month: the killing of innocent Christians in Nigeria (and elsewhere) must end,” Hegseth wrote on X. “The [War Department] is always ready, so ISIS found out tonight — on Christmas. More to come… Grateful for Nigerian government support & cooperation. Merry Christmas!”
This photo released by the Christian Association of Nigeria shows the dormitories of St. Mary’s Catholic Primary and Secondary School after gunmen abducted children and staff in Papiri community in Nigeria, Friday, Nov. 21, 2025. (Christian Association of Nigeria via AP)
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Christians and Christian institutions in Nigeria have been under attack in recent months, prompting global outrage and drawing the ire of the Trump administration.
In November, armed gunmen stormed the Christ Apostolic Church, killed two people and kidnapped dozens. The 38 abducted worshipers were freed almost a week later.
The attack on the Christ Apostolic Church was preceded and followed by attacks on Christian schools in Nigeria.
In the days before the attack, gunmen kidnapped 25 girls from a boarding school in Nigeria’s Kebbi State and killed at least one staffer. One of the girls managed to escape on the same day as the kidnapping, while the remaining 24 were rescued about a week later, The Associated Press reported.
Days after the attack on Christ Apostolic Church, armed attackers raided the Saint Mary’s School and kidnapped more than 300 students and staff. School officials said 50 of the students were able to escape in the following days, while 253 students and 12 teachers remain captive.
Fox News Digital’s Stephen Sorace and Paul Tilsley contributed to this report.
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