IRGC says it is ready to change nuclear policy if the state orders it

Amid tensions with the United States, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has warned that it is ready to change its nuclear policy if the country’s supreme leadership or state policymakers order it to do so.

IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Hossein Mohebbi issued the warning on Saturday. He stressed that any change would depend on a decision by Iran’s leaders.

According to the Fars news agency, the necessary preparations would be made if the country’s leaders decide to revise the nuclear doctrine.

But Mohebbi’s words do not mean that Iran has decided to abandon its long-standing opposition to nuclear weapons. He did not say that Tehran has changed its policy, nor did he explain what a revised Iranian nuclear policy might look like.

Rather, his warning suggests that Iran’s military is preparing for the possibility of a policy change, if the country’s top leaders order it.

Last week, Major General Mohsen Rezaei, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, said they were considering making some changes to their nuclear policy.

Mohebbi’s remarks on Saturday largely followed from Rezaei’s comments. But Rezaei made clear that no final decision has yet been taken.

That distinction is very important. Iran has long maintained that its nuclear programme is run for peaceful purposes — such as generating electricity — and that it does not want to build nuclear weapons.

So the IRGC’s latest warning is essentially about its readiness; it offers no guarantee that its policy will actually change.