Iran’s Minister of Intelligence remarked that “the Supreme Leader has explicitly said in his fatwa that nuclear weapons are against sharia law and the Islamic Republic sees them as religiously forbidden… But a cornered cat may behave differently from when the cat is free. And if they [ie, Western states] push Iran in that direction, then it’s no longer Iran’s fault”. A U.S. diplomatic spokesperson subsequently said that “it’s not yet clear to us that… [the minister] was speaking for anyone but himself”, while describing the remarks “very concerning”. He further maintained that “Iran has an obligation under the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty – the NPT – never – never, never, never – permanent prohibition to acquire nuclear weapons, and it reaffirmed that commitment under the JCPOA”.