Iran FM Araghchi says nuclear doctrine unlikely to change after Larijani’s assassination

TEHRAN: Iran’s stance against the development of nuclear weapons will not significantly change, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi 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.

Araghchi 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.

Iran’s foreign minister said he believed that after the war comes to an end, countries that border the Gulf should draft a new protocol for the Strait of Hormuz to ensure that safe passage through the narrow waterway is carried out under certain conditions aligned with Iranian and regional interests.

Iran shut the vital energy gateway, through which a fifth of global oil and liquefied gas passes, saying it “won’t even allow a litre of oil” to reach the US, Israel and their partners. On Tuesday, Iran’s parliament speaker tweeted that the Strait of Hormuz’ situation won’t return to its pre-war conditions.

The US has sought to build a naval coalition to escort vessels navigating the strait, with most NATO allies saying they don’t want to get involved in military operations against Iran. NATO-member France said it would only consider a joint international coalition to secure passage through the strait following a ceasefire and prior negotiations with Tehran.

Araghchi said an end to the war was only conceivable if the conflict was permanently over throughout the region and Iran received compensation for damages incurred.

When asked about Iranian strikes in the Gulf not only targeting US military bases but also impacting residential or commercial areas, Iran’s foreign minister said this was because US forces relocated to urban areas. “Wherever there were American forces gathering, wherever there were facilities belonging to them, they were targeted. It is possible some of these places were near urban areas,” the top Iranian diplomat said.

Araghchi acknowledged that regional countries are “upset and their people have been harmed or bothered” by Iranian strikes, but added that the blame lay entirely with the US for starting the war on February 28.

Iran hits Tel Aviv with cluster missiles after security chief assassination

Iran targeted Tel Aviv with missiles carrying cluster warheads in what it said was retaliation for Israel’s assassination of Iran’s security chief Ali Larijani, Iranian state television reported on Wednesday.

Israel has said that Iran has repeatedly used cluster warheads, which disperse into multiple smaller explosives mid-air and spread over a wide area, making them difficult to intercept. The attack on densely populated Tel Aviv overnight on Tuesday killed two people, bringing the death toll in Israel from the war to at least 14.

Iran will hold funerals on Wednesday for Larijani and another powerful figure killed Tuesday by Israel, GholamrezaSoleimani, the head of the Basij paramilitary force, according to the Fars and Tasnim news agencies.

Larijani is the most prominent figure of the Islamic Republic killed since Israel and the United States launched their attacks on Iran on February 28, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and igniting a war in the Middle East.

Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, which Larijani led as secretary, said Larijani’s son and his deputy, AlirezaBayat, were also killed in an Israeli attack on Monday night.

“Iran’s response to the assassination of the secretary of the Supreme National Security Council will be decisive and regrettable,” Iranian army chief Amir Hatami said in a statement. Monitoring Desk