WANA (Aug 25) – U.S. President Donald Trump reposted remarks by Iranian politician Ali Motahari on his social media platform X, highlighting comments related to Iran’s nuclear activities.

 

In the resurfaced interview, Motahari stated, “When we first entered nuclear activities, our goal was to build a bomb. If we had been able to keep it secret and test the bomb, the job would have been done. Once we started, we should have gone all the way.”

 

Motahari Responds: Trump’s Hands Are Empty

Reacting to Trump’s post, Ali Motahari—former member of Iran’s Parliament—clarified that the interview dates back to May 2022, when he neither held a parliamentary seat nor any official role in nuclear affairs.

 

“Trump has posted my interview as if it reflects the official decision of the Islamic Republic to build a nuclear bomb. It shows how empty-handed he is when he relies on the personal opinion of an ordinary individual, not an official report,” Motahari said.

 

He further added, “Trump would do better to focus on compensating Iran and to stop the killing and starvation of people in Gaza with bombs.”

U.S. President Donald Trump's post

U.S. President Donald Trump’s post. Social media/ WANA News Agency

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Responds to Trump’s Repost of an Old Motahari Comment

In response to U.S. President Donald Trump’s repost of a personal remark made by Ali Motahari back in 2022, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei wrote on X:

 

“When the President of the United States, Donald Trump, in his ongoing effort to justify America’s unlawful attack on Iran’s peaceful nuclear facilities, ignores the March 2025 testimony of his own Director of National Intelligence before Congress—where it was underlined that ‘the intelligence community continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon’—and instead relies on the personal opinion of an Iranian citizen from 2022, he reveals the political nature of his claims rather than any grounding in fact.”

 

It should be noted that Ali Motahari himself has emphasized that he holds no position within Iran’s nuclear sector, nor does he possess the specialized knowledge required in this field. During the interview in question, he was merely offering his personal analysis in response to a reporter’s questions.

 

Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization Rejected Misattributed Remarks on Nuclear Program

At the time the interview was published, Iranian authorities at the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) dismissed these claims. In an official statement, the AEOI said:

 

“The peaceful nuclear program of the Islamic Republic of Iran has never had a military orientation, and remarks made by unauthorized individuals in this regard stem from either ignorance or a particular political agenda.”

Ali Motahari—former member of Iran’s Parliament

Ali Motahari—former member of Iran’s Parliament. Social media/ WANA News Agency

In May 2022, Motahari also clarified that statements such as “we were pursuing nuclear weapons from the start, but the reports of the Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK) prevented it” were incorrectly quoted and taken out of context.

 

He explained that what he actually said was: “Some believed that developing such a weapon could be justified to deter enemies (citing a Quranic verse), but its use posed religious issues.” He further noted that the MEK misrepresented Iran’s nuclear activities as an intention to build a bomb.

 

Motahari emphasized that the ultimate authority determining Iran’s policy is the Supreme Leader, whose religious ruling (fatwa) prohibits the development of nuclear weapons.

 

The video clip of the interview resurfaced on X (formerly Twitter) nearly three weeks ago via one account and was subsequently shared by multiple social media accounts, eventually reaching U.S. President Donald Trump.