In a defiant Friday prayer sermon in Isfahan on March 14, Ahmad Mahmoudi, the city’s Friday prayer leader, declared that if Iran decided to develop nuclear weapons, neither the United States nor Western powers could stop it. “If we wanted to have nuclear weapons and build them, not only the Westerners but even America could not stop us,” he proclaimed, reinforcing Tehran’s ongoing strategy of nuclear brinkmanship amid growing international pressure. His remarks come as the UK, France, and Germany (E3) threaten to trigger the UN’s snapback mechanism under Resolution 2231, which could reimpose sanctions on Iran over its nuclear violations.
Ahmad Mahmoudi also defended the regime’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s opposition to negotiations with the United States, dismissing calls for renewed diplomacy as misguided. He claimed that certain figures within Iran were pushing the notion of talks due to “recent developments,” but insisted that Khamenei had “already made the position crystal clear multiple times.” Quoting the Quran to justify absolute obedience to the Supreme Leader, he warned that opposing Khamenei’s stance on negotiations amounted to “straying into grave misguidance.”
Attempting to project confidence, Mahmoudi mocked Western concerns over Iran’s nuclear program, insisting that the regime had voluntarily chosen not to build nuclear weapons based on “religious principles.” However, he simultaneously emphasized the regime’s technical capability, saying, “We have already reached 60% uranium enrichment. If we wanted to go further-to 70%, 80%, or even 90%-we could easily do so.” Comparing nuclear development to writing a second line of text after the first, he ridiculed Western attempts to pressure Iran, portraying them as futile.
Mahmoudi’s remarks in Isfahan echoed similar statements made by other Friday prayer leaders across the country, reinforcing the regime’s broader strategy of intimidation and defiance. In Karaj, Ayatollah Seyed Mohammad Mehdi Hosseini Hamedani underscored the need for the clerical regime to maintain a strategic approach toward its adversaries and allies, insisting that hostility toward the West was unavoidable. “They are well aware of our power,” Hamedani said. “They know that if Iran ever decides to build a nuclear weapon, they are too insignificant to stop it.”
This rhetoric follows a series of nuclear threats from Iranian officials in recent months, signaling the regime’s desperation as it faces mounting economic turmoil, domestic unrest, and international isolation. On March 8, Iranian MP Mohammad Motamedizadeh boasted that Iran could develop nuclear weapons “as easily as drinking water.” In February, a state-affiliated publication argued that Tehran should pursue nuclear weapons to establish a “balance of terror.” Khamenei’s senior advisor, Kamal Kharrazi, also hinted that Iran could shift its nuclear policy in response to external threats.
The regime has long relied on such rhetoric as both a scare tactic and a tool for domestic morale-boosting. With Iran’s economy in freefall and protests simmering beneath the surface, officials use nuclear threats to rally their base while attempting to intimidate the international community into avoiding harsher measures.
Mahmoudi also accused the U.S. of using negotiations as a deceptive tool to weaken Iran, aligning with other peers who argue that any talks with Washington would be a trap. He insisted that Iran’s leadership was acting “wisely” to steer the country in the right direction, praising Khamenei’s guidance as “removing the enemy’s weapons from their hands.”
