Fact Check: Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi Lied To FOX News

Memri

4 days ago

Introduction
With the aim of influencing American public opinion and marketing Iran as a moderate state that is not pursuing nuclear weapons and is merely the innocent victim of U.S.-Israeli aggression, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi gave an interview to FOX News. The interview aired on July 22, 2025.[1] In it, Araghchi tackled topics that had been raised in Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian's interview with Tucker Carlson in July (see MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 12079, Fact Check: Iranian President Pezeshkian Lied To Tucker Carlson, July 16, 2025). Like Pezeshkian's, Araghchi's statements were also untrue.
Foxnews.com/media/iranian-foreign-minister-denies-calls-wipe-israel-off-map-assassination-plots-kill-trump?msockid=2dc6dbb618f8690a092dcef519dd689f, July 22, 2025
Araghchi's four central claims in the interview were:
1. Denial of Iran's policy calling for the assassination of President Trump and administration officials during his first term – secretary of state Mike Pompeo and national security advisor John Bolton – following the January 2020 killing of IRGC Qods Force commander Qassem Soleimani, and Trump's orders to bomb Iranian nuclear facilities in the 12-day Israel-Iran war on Iran in June 2025.
2. Denial that the chant of "Death to America" refers not only to U.S. policy but also to American leaders and civilians.
3. Denial that Iranian policy calls for the destruction of Israel.
4. Insistence that Iran is committed to enriching uranium only to 5% for civilian purposes and to 20% at the Tehran research reactor, and that enrichment to 60% was carried out one time only under unique circumstances.
Araghchi's claims are refuted by many statements by Iranian regime officials and its religious leadership. Furthermore, the day after the interview, senior regime officials and their mouthpieces hastened to vehemently deny Araghchi's statements, for fear that they would be interpreted by regime loyalists as backing down from the regime's declared ideology.
Below is an examination of the facts in Araghchi's false claims in his FOX News interview, backed by regime officials' statements from MEMRI research.
1. Araghchi: "We Have Never Said" That Iran Seeks To "Kill Anyone Outside Of Iran, Let Alone The President Of Any Country"
Asked, "Is Iran currently trying to assassinate President Trump, former secretary of state Mike Pompeo, former ambassador John Bolton, and other Trump administration officials in the wake of the death of Qassem Soleimani?", Araghchi replied: "No, we have never said that, maybe some individuals here or there have said things like that, but that has never been Iran's official position... This is not our policy to kill anybody outside Iran, let alone the president of another country."
Fact: Dozens of declarations, fatwas, calls, and public initiatives for assassinating President Trump have been issued and launched by and via Iranian regime officials, the religious establishment, regime mouthpieces, and websites including that of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, even in the form of animated videos. These clearly point at an official regime policy calling for killing U.S. and other officials. In recent years, Iranian regime officials have publicly declared many times their commitment to take vengeance against Trump and members of his administration for their part in the killing of Soleimani, and, more recently, for Trump's approval and execution of attacks on Iranian nuclear facilities in June 2025.
Indeed, in November 2024, the U.S. Department of Justice charged Iranian asset Farhad Shakeri, who was at the time believed to reside in Iran and today is in Afghanistan, with involvement in plots to kill U.S. citizens. The DOJ said that he had been "tasked by the regime to direct a network of criminal associates to further Iran's assassination plots against its targets, including President-elect Donald Trump."[2] (See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11864, Iranian Regime Mouthpiece 'Kayhan' To Iranian President: 'Mr. Pezeshkian, Iran Has Planned, And Is Planning, To Assassinate Trump', March 4, 2025.)
Earlier, in August 2022, the Department of Justice charged Shahram Poursafi, an agent of the IRGC Qods Force, in an attempt to arrange the murder of John Bolton;[3] Mike Pompeo was also targeted in the plot.[4] It was revealed in June 2025 that Pompeo had narrowly escaped another Iranian assassination attempt in 2022.[5]
A brief review of statements by Iranian regime spokesmen on the issue shows that the regime's policy clearly calls for assassinating senior American officials, headed by President Trump himself. On April 7, 2025, Hossein Shariatmadari, the editor of the regime mouthpiece Kayhan and a close associate of Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, reiterated Khamenei's statements regarding wreaking vengeance on Trump, and noted that doing this is an Islamic religious principle that Khamenei had stated many times. Shariatmadari wrote in an article: "Soleimani's killer and those who ordered his murder must pay the price of revenge. On December 16, 2020, Iran's Supreme Leader said, referring to the assassination of Iran's national hero, the martyr Soleimani: 'The murderer of Soleimani and those who ordered his murder must pay the still-outstanding price of vengeance for his killing. Even if, as a beloved one [Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei] has said, Soleimani's shoes are superior to the head of his murderer, and even if his [the murderer's] head falls, it is not even worth his [Soleimani's] shoes. However, they [the Americans] have sinned, and both those who ordered it and those who carried it out must pay the price. They must know this: Vengeance may come at any possible moment. We are ready, we will wait until the time is right, and they will pay the price.'"
He added: "The Supreme Leader has reiterated this position, including on November 2, 2022, [saying]: 'We will never forget the martyrdom of the martyr Soleimani. They must know this. We have said our piece on this matter, and we stand behind our statements. At the right time and place, inshallah it will be carried out.'" (See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 11956, Hossein Shariatmadari, 'Kayhan' Editor And Close Associate Of Supreme Leader Khamenei: 'The Day Is Not Far Off When A Few Bullets Will Be Fired Into Trump's Hollow Head To Avenge The Blood Of The Martyr [Qassem] Soleimani' – This Is A 'Religious And Islamic Principle' And Khamenei's 'Promise And Clear Position' Of Vengeance; 'Vengeance May Come At Any Possible Moment – We Are Ready, We Will Wait Until The Time Is Right', May 1, 2025.)
Furthermore, in late June 2025, two senior ayatollahs from the Iranian religious establishment, both of them close to Khamenei, published binding fatwas stating that Trump's sentence is like the sentence of a muharib – an enemy of Allah and Islam – and that sentence is death (see MEMRI report on this, below).[6]
At the same time as these fatwas calling for assassinating Trump were published, a new regime-backed organization, Blood Covenant," emerged and announced that it was fundraising for assassinating Trump. As of early July, the organization had raised over $40 million.[7]
Source: Thaar.ir, accessed July 9, 2025.
Beyond Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's explicit directive, numerous other regime spokesmen reiterated their commitment and intention to assassinate President Trump. For example, on July 25, 2025, Mohammad Javad Larijani, advisor to Khamenei and former deputy foreign minister, stressed that "Trump's assassination has legal legitimacy in response to the establishment of a tradition of American assassinations in Iran."[8]
In a January 25, 2025 article, the regime mouthpiece Kayhan wrote: "We consider Trump and some of his colleagues, including Mike Pompeo, secretary of state in the Trump administration, to be the killers of Soleimani and his comrades. Revenge against them is the religious and legal duty of every zealous Muslim Iranian." IRGC Aerospace Force commander Amir Ali Hajizadeh, assassinated by Israel in the June 12-day war, told Iran's broadcasting authority on February 25, 2023: "God willing, we will be able to kill Trump, Pompeo, McKenzie, and the military commanders who ordered [the killing of Soleimani]."[9]
Additionally, Khamenei advisor Kamal Kharrazi told Lebanese media on March 22, 2023: "With regard to the killers of the martyr Soleimani, the intention is 'measure for measure' for criminals like Trump and Pompeo. It is not yet clear how, when, and in what form [Iran] will take revenge [on his killers] – let the criminals live with this psychological pressure."[10]
MEMRI Reports And Clips On The Iranian Regime's Policy Calling For Assassinating Trump
MEMRI Reports
Iranian Religious Establishment Declares Jihad Against President Trump For Threat To Khamenei That He Never Made, Calling For His Assassination: 'His Punishment Is Death'; 'His Blood Is Permitted'; This Is 'A Deed Warranting Enormous Reward' That 'Assures Paradise'; 'Every Cell Of The Resistance In the West Is Charged With Carrying Out This Sentence'; Over $42 Million 'Has Been Raised Online For Carrying Out This Assassination', July 9, 2025
Anti-Trump Fatwa By Iranian Grand Ayatollahs: Any Person Or Regime Who Threatens The Leader Is The Enemy Of God And Islam And His Punishment Is Death, June 30, 2025
Hossein Shariatmadari, 'Kayhan' Editor And Close Associate Of Supreme Leader Khamenei: 'The Day Is Not Far Off When A Few Bullets Will Be Fired Into Trump's Hollow Head To Avenge The Blood Of The Martyr [Qassem] Soleimani' – This Is A 'Religious And Islamic Principle' And Khamenei's 'Promise And Clear Position' Of Vengeance; 'Vengeance May Come At Any Possible Moment – We Are Ready, We Will Wait Until The Time Is Right', May 1, 2025
Iranian Regime Mouthpiece 'Kayhan' To Iranian President: 'Mr. Pezeshkian, Iran Has Planned, And Is Planning, To Assassinate Trump', March 4, 2025
Despite Iranian Foreign Ministry's Denials, Regime Mouthpiece Outlet 'Kayhan' Writes: Punishing The Murderers Of IRGC Qods Force Commander Qasem Soleimani Is Still On The Table; There Is No Guarantee That Trump Is Safe From Punishment, December 6, 2024
Reactions In Iran To Trump's Election Victory: 'The Return Of The Murderer'; 'The Sword Of Vengeance… Hovers Above Trump's Head'; 'America – The Great Satan'; 'Iran And The Resistance Axis Are Ready', November 8, 2024
Since The U.S.'s January 2020 Killing Of IRGC Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani, Iranian Regime Officials Have Reiterated Their Intent To Assassinate Trump In Retribution – But Today, Iran Denies Any Connection To The July 13 Assassination Attempt Against Him, July 17, 2024
'Kayhan' Editor Shariatmadari To Trump: The IRGC Will Take Revenge Against You Personally For Your Involvement In Killing Of Qods Force Commander Soleimani, October 8, 2020
MEMRI TV Clips
General Amir Ali Hajizadeh, Commander of IRGC Aerospace Force: Killing President Trump and His Defense Secretary, Attacking Every U.S. Base Would Not Be Enough to Avenge Soleimani's Blood
IRGC Aerospace Force Commander Gen. Amir-Ali Hajizadeh Unveils New Hypersonic Missile, Adds: We Could Have Killed 1,000 Wretched U.S. Soldiers At Ayn Al Asad Air Base, But It Is Trump, Pompeo, And Gen. McKenzie That Should Be Killed
Former Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Larijani: Our Islamic Scholars Have Issued a Fatwa Designating Trump as Someone Who Wages War against God - Any Muslim Might 'Do the Job'
Iranian Animation Posted On Khamenei's Website Depicts Targeted Assassination Of Former President Trump At Mar-A-Lago: 'Revenge Is Definite'
Former Iranian Deputy FM Mohammad-Javad Larijani Threatens: A Drone Can Hit Trump In The Bellybutton While He Is Sunbathing At Mar-A-Lago; Macron Could Be Hit While Partying At A Discotheque
2. Araghchi: "The Supreme Leader And Other Officials In Iran Have Always Said That 'Death To America' Is, In Fact, Death To The, You Know, Hegemonic Policies Of The United States, Not To The People Of The United States"
Fact: On February 8, 2019 – even before Soleimani's killing – in a speech marking the 40th anniversary of Iran's Islamic Revolution, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei clarified: "Death to America means death to Trump, John Bolton, and Pompeo. It means death to the leaders... It means them now, and in past times."
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below:
Furthermore, on July 22, 2025, the IRGC published, on its Telegram channel, a video explaining in detail that "Death to America" meant "wishes for the deaths of those who killed the natives in America, wishes for a loathsome death for those who enslaved and abused black people for centuries, for those who played a role in the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, death for those who killed countless innocent civilians in the U.S.-Vietnam war and raped thousands of Vietnamese women... for those who brought about the deaths of masses of people in the Philippines, Korea, and Afghanistan on the pretext of protecting human rights... those who defended the Zionists... death to the presidents, ministers, and senators of America, whose hands are stained with the blood of millions of innocents, and at this moment what is meant more precisely by 'Death to America' is death to Trump."
To view this clip on MEMRI TV, click here or below:
3. Araghchi: "This Has Never Been Iran's Policy To Wipe Out Israel From The Map"
Fact: Since its establishment in 1979, Iran's Islamic regime has promoted the goal of destroying the State of Israel, per the instructions of the revolutionary regime's founder Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. He had said that "Israel must be erased from the pages of history."
For the Iranian regime, the elimination of the State of Israel is at the core of its ideology, and it states this openly and emphasizes it. It is not a mere slogan; the regime has consistently made large-scale military moves over the decades to further this aim. These measures include, inter alia, massively arming the members of the "axis of resistance." MEMRI research shows that Hizbullah is financed, trained, and supplied with tens of thousands of missiles by Iran; Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad have received funding, training, and weapons and missiles, and these have been used to carry out Iran's interests. Hamas itself underwent training exercises on Iranian soil for its October 7 massacre, in addition to receiving extensive funding for it. Likewise, the Houthis in Yemen are also supported and used by Iran against Israel.
Additionally, senior regime officials have repeatedly and publicly called for the destruction of the State of Israel. Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has declared on several occasions that Israel must be eradicated, shortening the timeline for doing so to 2040, as seen on the doomsday clock in Tehran's Palestine Square that counts down the days to Israel's end.
The clock in Tehran's Palestine Square counting down to Israel's end in "January 2040," per Khamenei's statements. (Source: IUSnews.ir, June 23, 2016)
For example, Khamenei said in December 1990: "Our position is the same as that expressed by the late Imam [Khomeini]: Israel must be eradicated." He said in February 2012: "Israel is a cancerous growth in the region, and it must be cut out, and it will be cut out. We participated in two wars against Israel, and from now on, wherever any group is confronting Israel, we will stand behind [that group] and support it." And, in May 2025, he said, "The Zionist regime – a dangerous and deadly cancerous growth in this region – must be uprooted, and will be uprooted."[11]
Foreign Minister Araghchi's flat-out denial of the Iranian regime's declared ideological goal of Israel's destruction enraged the regime mouthpieces, including the Kayhan daily and the IRGC-affiliated Tasmin news agency. On July 23, 2025, the day after Araghchi's interview was published, they all reminded him that the regime's policy absolutely does set out Israel's destruction.
Kayhan quoted Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini as saying, "We say: Israel must be eradicated from the face of history, and Jerusalem belongs to the Muslims and is the Muslims' first qibla [direction of prayer in Islam]." Additionally, Kayhan editor Hossein Shariatmadari, who is close to Khamenei, wrote on July 23, 2025: "If only Mr. Araghchi, had added, after he said that 'we do not intend to eradicate Israel from the map of the world,' that 'In accordance with the path of the late Imam and his successors today, we believe that Israel should be erased from the face of history' – that is, not just to disappear from the map, but to be completely eradicated from the world."
Tasnim, for its part, explained that FOX News had actually omitted some of Araghchi's statements and distorted them, thus creating the impression that the Islamic Republic of Iran does not think that Israel must be destroyed. What Araghchi had actually said, according to Tasnim, was that Israel's destruction "is an inescapable fact."
Likewise, on July 25, in his Friday sermon in the city of Sari in Mazandaran province, Ayatollah Mohammad Bagher Mohammad Laini, who is also Khamenei's representative in the province, harshly criticized Araghchi's statements about Israel's destruction not being a goal of the Iranian regime. The ayatollah said, "This statement contradicts the statements of the Imam Khomeini," and stressed that "the eradication of Israel is the philosophy of the revolution, the will of the people, and the determination of the leader, and it will definitely happen."[12]
Below are further examples from Iranian media of senior Iranian regime officials' declarations and regime policy regarding the obligation to destroy Israel:
Front page of Kayhan, September 8, 1982: Khomeini's statement "Israel must be eradicated from the pages of history."
Front page of Kayhan, February 24, 2024: Khamenei says on February 23, 2024, "The Islamic world will definitely see the destruction of Israel." (Kayhan.ir/fa/news/)
Khomeini's statement in Hebrew and Farsi on an IRGC long-range missile capable of reaching Israel: "Israel must be eradicated from the face of the earth." The photo was taken during the March 8-9, 2016 annual missile exercise, which that year was named "Power of the Rule [of the Jurisprudent]" (Eqtedar-e Velayat), during which IRCG officials issued explicit threats against Israel and stated that these missiles were aimed "to destroy the Zionist enemy." (See MEMRI Special Dispatch No. 6349, Iran Launches Long-Range Missiles Emblazoned With Slogan: 'Israel Should Be Wiped Off The Face Of The Earth', March 16, 2016.
Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei on X on May 17, 2025: "In this region, the point that leads to corruption, war, and conflict is the Zionist regime. [This] regime that is the dangerous, deadly cancerous tumor of this region must and will be eradicated." (Source: X.com/Khamenei_fa/status/1923667422134833302)
July 23, 2025 article in Kayhan the day after Araghchi's interview citing Khomeini's phrase about Israel being eradicated from the pages of history
MEMRI Reports And Clips Of Calls And Actions By Iranian Regime To Destroy And Eradicate Israel
Reports
MEMRI's Warnings About Iran's Policy Of Arming The West Bank Under Orders From Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei And About The Implementation Of This Policy, February 13, 2025
The Iran-Israel War: Tehran Threatens Israel, The Gulf States, And The U.S. – But Asks The U.S. To Protect It, October 15, 2024
IRGC Commander Hossein Salami: 'We Are Living In An Era In Which God Has Given A Clear Victory To The Front Of Islam... In Recent Decades, We Have Had Unceasing Jihad [Holy War] And Unstoppable And Ongoing War With The Arrogant Regime [The U.S.] And Its Partners', June 24, 2024
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Tweets 'Death To Israel' Seven Times, Instructs Followers To Stone The Satan Israel, June 18, 2024
Iran's Grand Plan: Bring Down The Jordanian Regime, Attack Israel From The East, And Thwart The Western-Sunni Normalization Project – And This Could Begin This Friday, Iran's Qods Day, April 3, 2024
Iranian President Raisi On Occasion Of Iran's Revolution Day: 'The Revolution Is Advancing And Knows No Obstacles'; 'The Way To Eliminate The Zionist Regime And Prevent Its Crimes Is To Sever All Economic Relations With It', March 6, 2024
Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei: 'Iran's Reliance On Soft Power Has Been Its Main Strategy For The Past 45 Years'; 'The Resistance Must Strike The Enemy Wherever Necessary... The Day Will Come When The Iranian Nation And The Muslim Peoples' Will Defeat 'The Enemies And 'Satans Of The World', February 22, 2024
IRGC Qods Force Commander On Iran's 'Harsh Vengeance' Against Its Enemies And The Enemies Of The Muslims: 'We Are Doing This Every Day – We Must Thank Our Heroes In Lebanon, Iraq, Yemen, And All The Countries That Support The Oppressed Palestinian People', February 15, 2024
Iranian Regime Mouthpiece 'Kayhan': 'At The Start Of The War In Gaza, We Said, Have No Doubt That Gaza Is Winning – And That Gaza's Victory Will Be Achieved By Creating A Balance Of Fear And Horror… Time Is Running Out For Israel, And A Hard Winter Awaits The Zionists, The Americans, And The Europeans!' February 1, 2024
Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei Knowingly Lies By Claiming That Iran Never Said That The Jews/Zionists Should Be Thrown Into The Sea And That Iran Never Wanted This, December 4, 2023
Iranian Regime Officials Praise Iran's Proxies In The Palestinian Resistance And The October 7 Massacres, Call For Eradication Of Israel, December 1, 2023
Iranian Culture Minister: October 7 Will Be Designated 'Day Of The Epic Valor Of The Young Palestinians' – This 'Number Of Dead Zionists Is Unprecedented In History', November 8, 2023
Iran's Political And Military Leadership Encourages Hamas To Continue Fighting Until It Achieves The Iran-Hamas Resistance's Objective – The Destruction Of Israel, October 15, 2023
Iranian Regime Uses Palestinians To Accomplish The Goals Of The Islamic Revolution – Destroying Israel By The Sword Via A Multi-Arena Struggle – Part II, September 16, 2022
In Tehran Visit On The Eve Of The Gaza-Israel Conflict, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) Leader Nakhaleh, Iranian Regime Heads Praise Iran's Support For PIJ; IRGC Qods Force Commander Qaa'ni: 'The Palestinian Fighters Are At The Stage Of Planning To Strike The Final Blows Against The Rotting Body Of The Zionist Regime, When The Time Is Right', August 8, 2022
Iranian Regime Incites To Israel's Destruction On World Qods (Jerusalem) Day, Using The Palestinians To Accomplish The Goals Of The Islamic Revolution – Destroying Israel And Establishing Iranian-Shi'ite Control In The Region – Part I. July 12, 2022
Iranian Majlis Member Ahmad Hossein Falahi: 'One Of The Main Goals Of The Islamic Revolution Has Always Been The Annihilation Of The Zionist Regime; Today, All Those Who Believe In The Islamic Revolution And In The Arrival Of The Mahdi Are Certainly Thinking' Of It, February 17, 2022
Iranian Armed Forces Spokesman Abolfazl Shekarchi: 'The Annihilation Of [Israel, i.e.] The Regime Occupying Jerusalem, Is The Greatest Ideal That We See Before Our Eyes'; 'If We Say That The False Zionist Regime Must Disappear – And Inshallah It Will – The Islamic World Will Celebrate On That Day' – And 'On That Promised Day, We Will Make Maximal Use Of Our Means'; 'There Is No Way... [To] Arrive At Understandings With A Great Satan Like America', December 22, 2021
Destruction Of Israel By The Sword Or By Referendum – Part I: On Qods Day 2021, Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei Calls On Palestinians To Rise Up Against Israel. May 24, 2021
Iran Responds To Bahrain And UAE Normalization With Israel: Israel's Destruction Is Near, The Gulf State Regimes Are In Danger, November 2, 2020
Daughter Of Deceased Iranian Leader Rafsanjani: Iranian Regime Should Consider Establishing Relations With Israel; IRGC Official: Khamenei Intended For Israel To Disappear Much Earlier Than The 25 Years He Allotted It, October 20, 2020
IRGC Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani In Letter Sent Prior To His Death To Hamas Military Wing Commander Muhammad Deif: Despite The Pressures And Siege, Iran Will Never Abandon Palestine, May 26, 2020
Iranian Regime Marks Qods Day 2020 With Antisemitism, Blood Libels, And Calls For Destruction Of Israel, May 21, 2020
Antisemitism In Iran – Part II: Supreme Leader Associate Mehdi Taeb In Lecture Series On The Jews: Your Greatest Sworn Enemy The Jews; If The Spearhead Is Aimed At The Jews, The World Will Be Freed, January 27, 2020
Editor Of 'Mashregh News' Website, Which Is Close To Iran's Intelligence Ministry: My Tweet Hoping For Death Of All Israelis Did Not Violate Twitter's Rules, April 1, 2019
Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif's Claim That Iran Does Not Seek Israel's Destruction Is A Blatant Lie (Part I), January 14, 2019
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Announces The Goals Of 'The Second Phase Of The Islamic Revolution' For The Next 40 Years: 'The Challenge Is Mighty Iran's Presence At The Borders Of The Zionist Regime', By A. Savyon*
Israel's Eradication – An Ideological And Practical Goal Of Iran's Islamic Revolution Regime, September 25, 2018
IRGC Deputy Commander Salami On Qods Day 2018: 'We Are Creating Might In Lebanon – Because We Want To Fight The Enemy From There With All Our Strength', July 5, 2018
MEMRI TV Clips
4. Araghchi: "We Never Go To 90%" Uranium Enrichment – "We Remain Committed To Below 5% To Produce Fuel For Nuclear Power Plants, And We Also Enriched Up To 20% Because We Have A Research Reactor In Tehran... So We Are Enriching Uranium For Our Own Needs; We Once Went Up To 60% And That Was After [The] Sabotaging [Of] Our Nuclear Facilities"
Fact: According to a May 31, 2025 report by the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran has in its possession 408.6 kilograms of uranium enriched to 60%.[13] An earlier report from February 2025 stated that Iran had 274.8 kg of uranium enriched to 60%. A November 2024 report stated Iran's uranium stores stood at 182.3 kg, and according to the report before that, in August 2024, that quantity was 164.7 kg.[14]
These statistics attest to a policy of enriching uranium to high levels – not to a one-time incident of enrichment, as Araghchi claims.
Furthermore, in the past two years, senior Iranian regime officials have publicly and explicitly called for enriching uranium to 90%. There is no civilian use for uranium enriched to this level except for developing a nuclear bomb – which undermines Araghchi's claim that Iran's enrichment is for civilian purposes only.
MEMRI Reports And Clips: Regime Officials Call For Iran To Produce Nuclear Weapons
Reports
Iran Uses 'Maximum Pressure' On Biden Administration – Part II: Supreme Leader Khamenei: 'If The Islamic Republic [Of Iran] Decided To Obtain Nuclear Weapons, Neither You [The Zionist Clown] Nor Those Greater Than You [The U.S.] Would Be Able To Stop It,' February 23, 2021
Shift In Iranian Regime Statements On Nuclear Weapons: Regime Spokesmen Talk Openly About Them, Aiming For Western Acquiescence To Iran As A Nuclear Threshold State, August 2, 2022
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei: 'If It Were Not An Islamic Principle, And If We Had The Will To Build Nuclear Weapons, We Would Do So – Even The Enemies Know That They Cannot Stop Us'; MEMRI: The Fatwa Banning Nuclear Weapons That Is Attributed To Khamenei Does Not Exist, June 26, 2023
Senior Iranian Regime Officials Warn Of Iran's Coming Nuclear Breakout, April 25, 2024
Iranian Majlis Member Dr. Ahmad Bakhshayesh Ardestani In Interview With Iran's Roydad 24 News: 'Iran Is Slowly Making Preparations To Announce That It Has A Nuclear Bomb', May 15, 2024
In Advance Of Revival Of U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks, Iranian Calls For Iran To Possess Nuclear Weapons Are Again Heard, September 5, 2024
Following November 21 IAEA Resolution Censuring Iran, Iran Intensifies Its Statements On Accelerating Its Nuclear Program – Speeding Uranium Enrichment, Adding Centrifuges, Leaving The NPT, And Producing Nuclear Weapons, December 2, 2024
Against The Backdrop Of U.S.-Iran Negotiations, Top Iranian Officials Call For Obtaining Nuclear Weapons, April 11, 2025
Sample Clips From Past Year Of Senior Iranian Officials Calling For Iran To Produce Nuclear Weapons
Friday Sermon In Qom, Iran By Mohammad-Reza Hamedi: We Request That Khamenei Reconsiders His Fatwa Banning The Production Of Nuclear Weapons
Ali Larijani, Senior Advisor To Iran's Supreme Leader Khamenei: If America Or Israel Make The Mistake Of Bombing Iran, It Will Force Us To Go In The Direction Of Building Nuclear Weapons
Iranian Majles Member Mohammad-Qasim Osmani: Iran Must Build Nuclear Weapons For Deterrence Purposes; Nuclear Technology Will Place Iran On Equal Footing In Negotiations
Iranian MP Mohammad-Reza Sabbaghian: The Solution To Netanyahu And Trump Is Building Nuclear Weapons; Iran Must 'Stand Strong Against The Bully'
Former Iranian Nuclear Chief Fereydoon Abbasi: If I Receive Orders To Build A Nuclear Bomb – I Will Do It; We Can Build A Small Nuclear Bomb That Can Destroy A Whole Military Base, And Is Not Classified As A WMD; The Zionists Have A Chance To Leave Now, Whoever Stays Should Be Eliminated
Iranian MP Abolfazl Zohrevand: We Need To Be Able To Produce As Many Nuclear Bombs As We Want In Less Than 24 Hours, And Equip Our Missiles With Tactical Nuclear Warheads
* A. Savyon is Director of the MEMRI Iran Media Studies Project; N. Katirachi is a Research Fellow at MEMRI.