Israel will prevent nuclear Iran says Netanyahu after IRGC Chief allegedly claimed Tehran will continue to pursue them

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu had said that his country will take all necessary action to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons. Netanyahu made the comments on Wednesday in response to purported statements by Ahmad Vahidi, the Commander-in-Chief of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

“Today we heard IRGC Commander Vahidi explicitly state Iran’s intention to continue developing nuclear weapons,” Netanyahu was quoted as saying by Israel’s Channel 14.

“As Prime Minister of Israel, I am equally determined to continue—to continue preventing Iran from possessing nuclear weapons,” he added.

What did IRGC Chief say?

According to Israel’s Ynet news, the authenticity of Vahidi’s comments has not been verified and that it first appeared on an unofficial account on social media, which goes by the name Mossad Commentary.

“As long as the United States and Israel possess nuclear weapons, we will continue working on them for our national security. If they disarm, we will disarm," the purported quote, attributed to Vahidi, stated.

Ynet news added that after Netanyahu’s speech, US Ambassador to the United Nations, Mike Waltz, also shared a post by Channel 14, with a caption reading: “Finally admitting what has been obvious for years.”

De-nuclearization of Iran

Preventing Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons was one of the declared objectives of the US war on the Islamic Republic, which began on February 28.

As part of the MoU Iran signed with the US, it had agreed not to produce or acquire nuclear weapons.

Last month, following the collapse of the MoU and resumption of the hostilities between the two sides, Trump had threatened to bomb an under-construction Iranian nuclear site buried deep under a mountain.

The site, known as Kuh-e Kolang Gaz La, or “Pickaxe Mountain,” lies on the south side of Iran's Natanz nuclear enrichment site, which was bombed by the United States during Operation Midnight Hammer in 2025's 12-day war between Iran and Israel. But Pickaxe Mountain has remained untouched as Iran continues to dig at the site.

It should be noted that Iran has always maintained that its nuclear programme was intended for civilian use, and Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the former Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, had repeatedly said that Islam prohibits nuclear weapons.

However, Western intelligence agencies believe that the civilian nuclear programme was a cover for Iran’s ultimate goal - to produce nukes.

Last month, The New York Times, citing US intelligence sources, had reported that they believe Iran’s new Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei is “far more” inclined to seek the development of nuclear weapons than his father.

The assessment was not based on new information gathered since the start of the war, but on previously collected information.