Tehran Official: Nuclear Strike Is Only US Option Left Against Iran
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- Hamidreza Gholamzadeh, Tehran's Deputy Mayor and head of the city's Centre for Communication and International Relations, claimed in an India Today TV interview that the US has run out of conventional military options, asserting "the only option Americans can use against us is nuclear bombing"
- Gholamzadeh stated Iran "will still fight" even if faced with further US military action, framing any escalation as an existential decision point for Washington
- He alleged that the US and Israel had considered disrupting Iran's funeral procession but "pulled back" after seeing "large gatherings and the presence of international guests"
- Gholamzadeh said the Strait of Hormuz — which the source notes handles a fifth of world shipping — "remains open" but Iran will "impose a tax" after 60 days, claiming "international law does not apply to the Strait of Hormuz"
- On indirect US-Iran negotiations, Gholamzadeh said there has been "no progress" and "the negotiations are not moving forward," adding "We know it, and the US also knows it"
- His remarks come amid recent military exchanges involving Iran, Israel, and the United States, according to the source
Why it matters: A senior Tehran official publicly framing the US choice as 'nuclear bombing or nothing' is its own escalatory signal, but the more concrete threat is the 60-day Strait of Hormuz tax — the waterway handles a fifth of world shipping per the source. With Gholamzadeh himself conceding talks are dead, the timeline for that Hormuz tax lines up with where negotiations would have needed to produce results.
