Iran has long insisted it never pursued nuclear weapons — but comments from a former senior official cast doubt on that claim.

In April 2022, Ali Motahari, former Deputy Speaker of Iran’s Parliament, admitted that the country’s nuclear program originally aimed to develop a bomb. “If we had managed to keep it secret and conduct a nuclear test, the matter would have been settled,” he said. “Once we had started, we should have seen it through to the end.”

The interviewer, taken aback, asked whether such a statement might jeopardize ongoing negotiations.

Motahari replied dismissively: “No one pays attention to what I say.”