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Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's Nonexistent Nuclear Fatwa Reemerges In Iranian Discourse With Trump Administration
On the eve of the fifth round of U.S.-Iran nuclear negotiations, the fatwa allegedly issued by Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei banning Iran's development, possession, and use of nuclear weapons as a guarantee that Iran would not seek to obtain them was brought up by two mouthpieces of the Iranian regime. Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi discussed it in a television interview on May 22, 2025, and the Iranian regime mouthpiece Kayhan discussed it in an article published May 21, 2025.
Over the years, no such fatwa has ever appeared on either of Khamenei's two fatwa websites, and while the fatwa has been said to have been issued on several different dates and in a range of different versions, no one has ever actually seen it.
Although the regime mouthpieces have insisted for two decades that it does exist, the fact is that it does not; its existence was invented for Iranian diplomatic purposes (see Appendix: MEMRI Reports On Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's Nonexistent Fatwa).
The following is background on this nonexistent fatwa, the translation of excerpts of Foreign Minister Araghchi's interview discussing it and Kayhan's article about it, and a list of MEMRI reports over the years about it.
Background: The Nonexistent Nuclear Fatwa As A Guarantee That Iran Will Not Seek To Obtain Nuclear Weapons
For over two decades, Iranian regime mouthpieces and regime officials have presented the nonexistent fatwa allegedly issued by Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei as a legal and religious guarantee that Iran will not launch, produce, or possess nuclear weapons.
The claim about this "nuclear fatwa" has been presented to the West, with which the Iranian regime has been in a dialogue ever since 2002, when Iran's illegal and undeclared nuclear activity was exposed. The fatwa is aimed at achieving legitimacy for Iran's strategic goal of attaining "nuclear threshold state" status, and for conducting on its a full "nuclear fuel cycle," including uranium mining, uranium enrichment, using uranium as fuel, and handling radioactive waste.
During the 2002-2006 Iran-EU3 (UK, France, and Germany) nuclear negotiations, Iran presented its position that a fatwa by Khamenei bans nuclear weapons. The EU3 demanded that Iran approve a clause in its state constitution similar to one in the constitutions of the "nuclear threshold states" Germany and Japan vis-à-vis a ban on nuclear weapons.
Iran rejected this demand, and, in order to circumvent it, Hassan Rohani, who had headed the Iranian nuclear negotiating team and who would in 2013 become Iran's president, said in a May 2012 interview that it was he who had proposed claiming that Khamenei had published this fatwa in a Friday sermon in November 2004 (see MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 1022, The Official Iranian Version Regarding Khamenei's Alleged Anti-Nuclear Weapons Fatwa Is A Lie, October 3, 2013).
Again, this alleged fatwa has never been found on Khamenei's fatwa webpages, not in November 2004 nor at any other time. Rohani's proposal, as he attested, was to present this alleged fatwa to the Europeans as a guarantee that Iran would not strive to produce nuclear weapons.
It is worth noting that while the Iranian regime rejected a constitutional ban on nuclear weapons, it has added articles concerning scientific and technological advances to its constitution, as a result of which there has been extensive investment in space, nuclear technology, and industry. Majlis National Security Committee deputy chairman Abbas Moqtadei stated on May 24, 2025 that "based on the aims and the policy set out in the constitution, we are committed to a precise plan to achieve comprehensive advancement of the nation in a range of aspects. In this context, there have been extensive activities and investment in various scientific areas, including aviation, space, nuclear energy, science and medicine, agriculture, industry, and new technologies."[1]
When in 2005 the EU3 demanded to see this fatwa, the regime representatives failed to produce it, and the EU3 did not accept the regime's claim. All Iran would provide was a report by an Iranian news agency purportedly about the fatwa (see MEMRI Inquiry and Analysis No. 825, Renewed Iran-West Nuclear Talks – Part II: Tehran Attempts to Deceive U.S. President Obama, Sec'y of State Clinton With Nonexistent Anti-Nuclear Weapons Fatwa By Supreme Leader Khamenei, April 19, 2012).
The Obama administration, which took over from the EU3 in conducting the nuclear negotiations with Iran, did accept Iran's position that this fatwa actually existed and that it did indeed serve as an alternative to invasive IAEA oversight. The administration promoted the fatwa as binding, even though it too never saw it.[2] The Obama administration went on to approve the Iranian regime as a legitimate party to the negotiations, erasing Iran's record of NPT violations, and even recognized Iran's right to enrich uranium on its soil with President Obama's signature. (See Inquiry and Analysis 1080, U.S. Secretary Of State Kerry In New And Unprecedented Statement: 'President Obama And I Are Both Extremely Welcoming And Grateful For The Fact That [Iranian] Supreme Leader [Khamenei] Has Issued A [Nonexistent] Fatwa' Banning Nuclear Weapons', March 31, 2014, and Special Dispatch No. 5461, President Obama Endorses The Lie About Khamenei's 'Fatwa' Against Nuclear Arms, September 29, 2013.)
Since then, Iran has adamantly rejected the Trump administration's demand for "zero enrichment" – that is, it refuses to give up enriching uranium on its soil and argues that its right to do so is nonnegotiable. According to regime representatives, the right to enrich uranium is an Iranian national achievement bought with blood that elevates Iran's status, gives it honor among the nations, and ensures independence from Western countries, as it is a revolutionary country that refuses to submit to the Western world order when it comes to the acquisition of enriched material.[3] This is despite the fact that Iran has no civilian nuclear plants powered by fuel enriched to the very high level that it possesses, as attested to by Iranian Majlis National Security And Foreign Policy Committee Member Ahmad Bakhshayish Ardestani. He said on May 25, 2025: "The 300 kg of uranium stored in Iran is equal to 10 atom bombs – and if Israel continues its threats, we will be able to increase the enrichment level even more."[4]
The fatwa, as a legal and religious guarantee that Iran is not striving to obtain nuclear weapons – despite the repeated announcements by Iranian officials about Iran's capability, and right, to possess them[5] – has recently been brought up again in regime mouthpiece claims vis-à-vis the Trump administration. This is in the hope that the latter will follow in the footsteps of the Obama administration that accepted the fatwa even though it does not exist.
Iranian Foreign Minister Araghchi In May 22, 2025 TV Interview: "The Supreme Leader Issued A Fatwa And We Do Not Need Nuclear Weapons In Our Defense Doctrine"
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said in his Iranian television interview on May 22, 2025, on the eve of the fifth round of nuclear talks in Rome: "If America's aim is for Iran not to advance toward nuclear weapons, this is achievable. We have no desire to build nuclear weapons. The Supreme Leader issued a fatwa, and we do not need nuclear weapons in our defense doctrine. They [the Americans] imposed sanctions on us due to the enrichment. We were under sanctions for years, but we didn't turn to [nuclear] weapons. Our scientists were assassinated, but we didn't turn to [nuclear] weapons. We came, we negotiated, and we reached an agreement through negotiations, but they [the U.S.] abandoned [the agreement]. We didn't use [nuclear] weapons. Our policy is based on principles and foundations, and nuclear weapons have no place in our defense doctrine."[6]
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi (Source: Tasnim, Iran, May 22, 2025)
Regime Mouthpiece Kayhan, May 21, 2025: "This Fatwa Is Not A Political Tactic, But A Legal And Strategic Position Within The Framework Of The Principles Of Islam"
In its May 21, 2025 article, Kayhan quoted Supreme Leader Khamenei's announcement that Iran would continue with its uranium enrichment policy and that it needed no approval from any country. The article stated:
"The experience of the past few decades has shown that the West's main problem with Iran is not nuclear weapons. The American administration and the European 'troika' (Britain, France, and Germany) have repeatedly stated that they 'are concerned that Iran will acquire nuclear weapons.' These governments know very well that Iran has the technical know-how to acquire nuclear weapons, but that for religious and moral reasons it will never move towards producing nuclear weapons.
"Iran has repeatedly declared [this], and, more importantly, the Supreme Leader [Khamenei] has issued a religious fatwa banning the production and use of nuclear weapons. This fatwa is not a political tactic, but a legal and strategic position within the framework of the principles of Islam."[7]
Appendix: MEMRI Reports On Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei's Nonexistent Fatwa
Below are MEMRI reports on the nonexistent fatwa published over the years:
Renewed Iran-West Nuclear Talks – Part II: Tehran Attempts to Deceive U.S. President Obama, Sec'y of State Clinton With Nonexistent Anti-Nuclear Weapons Fatwa By Supreme Leader Khamenei, April 19, 2012
Release Of Compilation Of Newest Fatwas By Iranian Supreme Leader Khamenei – Without Alleged Fatwa About Nuclear Bomb, August 13, 2013
President Obama Endorses The Lie About Khamenei's 'Fatwa' Against Nuclear Weapons, September 29, 2013
The Official Iranian Version Regarding Khamenei's Alleged Anti-Nuclear Weapons Fatwa Is A Lie, October 3, 2013.
Iranian President Hassan Rohani In Article In Saudi Daily: While Avoiding Confrontation And Hostility, We Shall Be Diligent In Pursuing Our Supreme Interests, December 23, 2013
U.S. Secretary Of State Kerry In New And Unprecedented Statement: 'President Obama And I Are Both Extremely Welcoming And Grateful For The Fact That [Iranian] Supreme Leader [Khamenei] Has Issued A [Nonexistent] Fatwa' Banning Nuclear Weapons,' March 31, 2014
Tehran Again Offers Khamenei's Nonexistent Fatwa In Negotiations As A Guarantee That It Is Not Developing Nuclear Weapons –
Iranian Regime Continues Its Lies And Fabrications About Supreme Leader Khamenei's Nonexistent Fatwa Banning Nuclear Weapons, April 6, 2015
Insights Following Exposure Of Iran's Military Nuclear Program – Part I: The Leadership Of Iran's Religious Regime Lies About Essential Islamic Matters, Manipulates Religion To Justify Its Grip On Power, Regional Expansion, May 6, 2018
Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif Reiterates Iran's Lie, Promoted By Obama Administration, That Supreme Leader Khamenei Issued Fatwa Banning Nuclear Weapons; No Such Fatwa Ever Existed, May 31, 2019
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
Khamenei's 'Nuclear Fatwa,' Once Again MEMRI Daily Brief
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.
Inquiry & Analysis Series No. 1784 - In Advance Of Revival Of U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks, Iranian Calls For Iran To Possess Nuclear Weapons Are Again Heard, September 5, 2024.
Special Dispatch No. 11833 - Iranian Regime Continues To Lie About The Alleged Fatwa Banning Nuclear Weapons, February 11, 2025.
