According to Axios, White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan presented US President Joe Biden with options for a potential US attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities if the Iranians move toward nuclear weapons before January 20.
Source: Axios with reference to three sources familiar with this question
Details: The publication notes that this happened during a meeting several weeks ago, which has so far been kept secret.
According to sources, Biden did not give a green light to the meeting and after it.
At a meeting held about a month ago, Biden and his national security team discussed various options and scenarios, but according to sources, the president has not made any final decision.
An American official familiar with the issue said that the meeting at the White House was not prompted by new intelligence and was not intended to end with Biden’s final decision.
According to the official, it was part of a “calculated planning scenario” discussion on how the US should respond if Iran takes steps such as enriching uranium to 90% purity before January 20.
Another source said that there is no active discussion in the White House about possible military action against Iran’s nuclear facilities.
The publication also adds that some of Biden’s key aides argue that two trends – accelerating Iran’s nuclear program and weakening Iran and its puppets in war with Israel – may together prompt Biden to strike.
An American official said that Sullivan did not give Biden any advice on the matter, but only discussed scenario planning. However, writes Axios, the White House declined to comment.
One source said that Biden focused on the issue of urgency, as well as whether Iran had taken steps that justified a military strike weeks before the new president took office (US – Red.).
Iran has long denied that it seeks to develop nuclear weapons, and stressed that its nuclear program is exclusively for civilian purposes.
But in recent months, several former and current Iranian officials have spoken publicly about the possibility of changing Iran’s nuclear doctrine.
Iran’s nuclear program has advanced significantly during Biden’s presidency, which has de facto made it a “nuclear threshold state”.
Iran has increased the enrichment rate to 60%, which is close enough to the 90% required for nuclear weapons, and modern Iranian centrifuges can achieve this in a matter of days.
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