Interview with Mousavian-The Strait of Hormuz-April 22, 2026
“Despite deep mistrust towards the United States, Iran still engaged in negotiations in 2025 and 2026… However, in each case, the United States killed the diplomatic process and attacked Iran,” Mr Seyed Hossein Mousavian, Visiting Research Collaborator at Princeton University and former spokesman for Iran’s nuclear dossier, told The Straits Times.
“If diplomacy fails to provide security, Iran may invest in multiple deterrence options, including strengthening the Axis of Resistance,” he added, referring to Iran’s proxies across the Middle East.
“Some voices in Iran increasingly argue that the most effective deterrent would be a nuclear capability similar to that of North Korea,” Mr Mousavian, the former Iranian nuclear negotiator, noted.
Iran is estimated to possess 440kg of highly enriched uranium, and unless its nuclear programme is verifiably dismantled, the possibility of it developing nuclear weapons in the next few years remains a troubling prospect.
“In the absence of a reliable agreement with the United States, the recent wars have led many in Iran to conclude that international treaties like the Non-Proliferation Treaty and existing international rules may not adequately protect the country’s sovereignty and security,” Mr Mousavian told ST.