The American “Axios” website, citing three sources it described as “informed,” reported that US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan presented to President Joe Biden, during a secret meeting held several weeks ago, options for carrying out a possible attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities, if it moved towards developing a weapon. Nuclear power ahead of the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump, scheduled for January 20.
The sources stated that Biden did not give the green light for any strike during or after the meeting, and indicated that the US President discussed with the national security team during the meeting, which was held about a month ago, several options and scenarios, but “he did not make any final decision.”
Axios considered that launching an American strike on the Iranian nuclear program during the transitional period would be a “major gamble” on the part of Biden, who has pledged not to allow Iran to develop a nuclear weapon, but it may also leave an open conflict for Trump.
An informed American official said that the meeting was not based on new intelligence information or with the aim of reaching a final decision, but rather was part of “precautionary scenario planning” regarding how the United States would respond if Iran took steps such as enriching uranium to a purity of up to 90%. Before January 20th.
Another source indicated that there are currently no discussions taking place within the White House regarding taking military action against Iranian nuclear facilities.
Informed sources pointed out that some of the US President’s senior aides believe that the “acceleration” of the Iranian nuclear program, and the “weakness” of Tehran and its regional agents in their war with Israel, represent a “motivation and opportunity” to carry out a military strike against the nuclear facilities.
She added that among these aides is Sullivan, who believes that the “decline” of Iran’s air and missile defense capabilities, in addition to the noticeable weakness of Iran’s proxies in the region, increases the chances of a successful military strike, and reduces the risks of an Iranian response or the outbreak of a broad regional escalation, according to “ Axios.”
An informed American official indicated that Sullivan did not make any recommendations to Biden regarding launching a military strike, but rather his role was limited to discussing plans for possible scenarios.
Another source reported that Biden focused during the discussions on a pivotal question, which is: “Has Iran taken nuclear steps that justify launching a military strike of this size a few weeks before the end of his term and handing over power to a new president?”
Iran repeatedly denies seeking to develop a nuclear weapon, and asserts that its nuclear program is intended for peaceful purposes only. In recent months, several current and former Iranian officials have spoken publicly about potentially changing Iran’s nuclear doctrine.
Sullivan said at a conference held in New York two weeks ago: “You can look at the public statements of Iranian officials, which changed over the past few months, after they received these strategic strikes, which raised the question: Do we have to change our doctrine at some point?” “These are public statements, which requires very careful consideration.”
Sullivan pointed out that “the strikes that Iran and its proxies were subjected to during the past year may push Tehran to seek to possess a nuclear weapon,” and continued: “This creates options for this opponent that may be very dangerous, and it is something that requires our extreme vigilance during the next stage.”
The nuclear program witnessed significant progress during the Biden administration, making Iran close to being a de facto “nuclear threshold state.”
Iran has increased its uranium enrichment to the level of 60%, which is very close to the 90% required to produce a nuclear weapon, and the advanced centrifuges that Iran possesses can reach this level within a few days.
According to the International Atomic Energy Agency, Iran possesses an amount of 60% enriched uranium, sufficient to make 4 nuclear bombs.
Even if Iran decided to build a nuclear bomb, it would need to develop a nuclear explosive device or warhead, which Israeli intelligence believes would take about a year.
Israel said, “It attacked the Iranian “Parchin” military complex late last October, and destroyed “advanced equipment,” dating back to before Iran ended its military nuclear program in 2003, and which is considered essential for designing and testing a nuclear explosive device.”
American and Israeli officials claim that Iranian scientists conducted suspicious research last year related to the manufacture of nuclear weapons, which apparently comes with the aim of reducing the time required to develop a nuclear device if the Iranian leadership decides to do so.
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