Escalation in Hormuz pushing Iran to 'run faster toward the nuclear bomb,' Iran expert says

Beni Sabti, an Iran researcher at the Institute for National Security Studies (INSS), argues that the escalation in the Strait of Hormuz is pushing Iran to intensify its nuclear ambitions rather than surrender. He stated in an interview with 103FM that the Iranian leadership, despite domestic hardships, views continued confrontation as a path to survival. Sabti quoted an Iranian MP who tweeted, "We need to immediately obtain a nuclear bomb to protect our assets in the Strait of Hormuz." He advocates for the US to increase military strikes against senior Iranian officials in central Iran, believing that the current state of emergency benefits the new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, who focuses solely on war. Sabti also noted growing public unrest in Iran due to economic pressures and power outages, and dismissed a report claiming former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was a Mossad agent as "nonsense."