Has the revolutionary leader’s opinion about nuclear weapons changed?

The nuclear fatwa of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, which was issued in his message at the first international conference on “Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation” in April 2010, and later officially registered at the United Nations, states that, in addition to believing in the prohibition of nuclear weapons, we also consider the use of “other types of weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical and biological weapons, as forbidden.”Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader, in a meeting with a group of students on November 4 (13 Aban) in response to a student who asked for a change in the nuclear doctrine and for a secondary fatwa on nuclear weapons, said: “Whatever is necessary to counter the enemy, we will definitely do.”Following the Supreme Leader’s remarks, “Esmaeil Baghai,” spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also made a statement regarding nuclear weapons, saying: “Our stance on rejecting weapons of mass destruction is very clear, but as the Leader of the Revolution emphasized, we will equip ourselves with whatever is necessary to defend Iran.”Earlier, “Kamal Kharrazi,” head of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, had said: “If an existential threat arises, Iran will change its nuclear doctrine; we have the capability to produce weapons.” He stated: “Iran has the capacity to produce a nuclear bomb; the capability exists today, but we have no intention of producing a nuclear bomb. If an existential threat arises, the Islamic Republic of Iran will change its military doctrine. It still exists, and we now have the necessary capacity for all weapons. We have no problem. The only thing preventing us is the Leader’s fatwa, which currently prohibits it.”Following the Supreme Leader’s remarks, some believe that Ayatollah Khamenei’s fatwa is a religious ruling and does not have the status of a governmental decree, and others, who do not follow him, may act differently.According to “Wiki Shia,” it has been reported that in the first half of the 2010s, opinions and fatwas from religious authorities such as Makarem Shirazi, Nouri Hamedani, Jafari Subhani, and Javadi Amoli also affirmed and emphasized the jurisprudential view of Ayatollah Khamenei.However, Kharrazi’s reference to Ayatollah Khamenei’s fatwa on the prohibition of building nuclear weapons sees the fatwa as the only factor halting this matter.In the nuclear fatwa of the Supreme Leader, which was issued in his message at the first international conference on “Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation” in April 2010 and later officially registered at the United Nations, it is stated that in addition to believing in the prohibition of nuclear weapons, we also consider the use of “other types of weapons of mass destruction, such as chemical and biological weapons, as forbidden.”Despite this, some believe that the Supreme Leader’s fatwa on the prohibition of nuclear weapons could change.Hojatoleslam Hassanali Akhlaqi Amiri, a member of the Cultural Commission of the 12th Parliament, says in this regard: “The fatwa of His Excellency, which was issued in 2010 regarding the prohibition of nuclear weapons, remains in place. However, in jurisprudential terminology, sometimes we have a primary and sometimes a secondary ruling, and based on the necessities that the general conditions of the people require, the jurist, particularly the jurisprudent of the government, may sometimes resort to a secondary ruling. However, the Supreme Leader, as the deputy of the Prophet Muhammad and the Ahl al-Bayt in governance, has the religious authority to even change a primary ruling. However, we can say one step lower that in necessary situations, a jurist can, as a secondary ruling, change his fatwa according to the issues that the Islamic community requires. Preserving the system is the highest interest; this was said by Imam Khomeini, and His Excellency has also emphasized it many times