Tehran municipality's paper: Islamic Republic has uranium for 12 atomic bombs

Hamshahri Online, an outlet affiliated with the Tehran municipality, wrote on Monday 9 November 2026, in a piece on the possibility of a US nuclear attack, that the Islamic Republic has enough uranium to build "10 to 12 nuclear weapons". The state outlet called the threat of a US nuclear attack mostly "psychological pressure" and spoke of the possibility of inflicting "the same blow" on Israel.

This is not the first time in recent weeks that nuclear weapons have been discussed from within the regime. According to Radio Farda, Mohammad Javad Larijani, a figure close to the leader's office, has said "tactical" use of a nuclear weapon against an enemy military base is permissible. Earlier, Esmaeil Baghaei, spokesman for the Islamic Republic's foreign ministry, had spoken of a possible change in nuclear doctrine.

440 kg of 60 percent uranium without oversight

The International Atomic Energy Agency has estimated the Islamic Republic's stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60 percent at about 440.9 kilograms. Having this stockpile does not mean a bomb is ready; building a weapon requires further technical steps. Britain's representative at the UN Security Council said on 27 October that the stockpile had not been verified for more than a year. The European Union also called on 17 October for IAEA inspectors to return to all nuclear facilities.

For years the Islamic Republic's leaders have presented their atomic programme as peaceful, citing a fatwa by Ali Khamenei declaring nuclear weapons forbidden. State media and figures close to the regime talking about the number of possible bombs and their "tactical" use call that narrative into question.

US and Israeli reactions

Donald Trump said in an interview with CBS on Sunday that the Islamic Republic will never get a bomb and that its nuclear material remains buried under rubble. On 15 October he had ruled out using nuclear weapons against Iran, saying the US does not need them. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio cited the need to confront the Islamic Republic's nuclear threat as the reason the war was necessary. Israel Katz, Israel's defence minister, said on Sunday that the Islamic Republic has resumed its pursuit of nuclear weapons and that Israel's mission is not over.

The Tehran municipality's outlet speaks of uranium for 12 bombs; from a regime that for years used the anti-bomb fatwa as a shield for its atomic programme.