- Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said Iran's stance on nuclear weapons will not change
- The new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei has not publicly stated his view on nuclear weapons
- Former leader Ali Khamenei issued a fatwa against weapons of mass destruction in the early 2000s
Iran's stance against the development of nuclear weapons won't significantly change, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi told Al Jazeera in remarks relayed by Iranian media on Wednesday, cautioning that the new supreme leader is yet to publicly express his view on the matter.
Former Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who was killed early in the US-Israeli war against Iran, opposed the development of weapons of mass destruction in a fatwa, or religious edict, issued in the early 2000s.
Western countries, including the US and Israel, have for years accused Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons, while Iranian authorities have said their nuclear programme is solely for civilian purposes.
Araqchi said fatwas depend on the Islamic jurist issuing them and added he was not yet in a position to judge the jurisprudential or political views of Mojtaba Khamenei, Iran's new supreme leader.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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