Iranian officials are seeking to openly pursue nuclear weapons following Israel’s weekend attack on a host of military installations, publicly acknowledging work that Tehran has long tried to hide from the international community.

Mohammad Reza Sabbaghian, a member of Iran’s parliament, said on Sunday that nuclear weapons are the only way to deter future attacks by Israel, signaling an increased appetite within Tehran’s hardline leadership to openly pursue an atomic bomb.

“In response to the aggressor Zionist regime and the United States, we must consider [achieving] the defense weapons that these aggressors and bullies have, and the defense and nuclear doctrine of our country should be revised,” Sabbaghian was quoted as saying during a session of parliament. “I condemn the Zionist regime’s cowardly aggression against Iran, which was carried out with the direct and indirect support of the U.S. and Europe.”