The Iranian regime has always sought nuclear weapons, but at the moment, this ambition may have taken on an unprecedented urgency. For decades, the ruling clerics have perceived nuclear capability as a symbol of power and ideological triumph. Now, more than ever before, the regime may be prepared to use every trick, tactic, and deception it has cultivated over the years to achieve that goal. Iran’s leaders appear to see nuclear weapons not simply as a strategic tool, but as an existential necessity — a shield for the regime’s survival and a sword to advance its revolutionary ideology.