US President Joe Biden has discussed the possibility of striking Iran's nuclear facilities if Tehran comes close to building a bomb. This was reported by Axios, citing three sources familiar with the matter, UNN reports.
Details
The publication notes that White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan presented President Biden with options for a potential US attack on Iran's nuclear facilities if the Iranians take a step toward building nuclear weapons by January 20.
It is noted that this happened a few weeks ago, but until now the meeting remained secret. A U.S. strike on Iran's nuclear program would be a huge gamble on the part of an American president who has pledged to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, but who also risks passing a new conflict to his successor.
Biden and his national security team discussed various options and scenarios, but the president has not made any final decision.
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A U.S. official with knowledge of the matter said the White House meeting was not prompted by new intelligence and was not intended to result in a clear decision by Biden. It was part of a scenario discussion on how the US should respond if Iran takes steps such as enriching uranium to 90% purity by January 20.
Another source said that the White House is not currently actively discussing possible military action against Iran's nuclear facilities.
At the same time, some of Biden's key aides argue that two trends - the acceleration of Iran's nuclear program and the weakening of Iran and its proxies in the war with Israel - may prompt Biden to launch a strike.
An unnamed U.S. official said that Jake Sullivan did not give Biden any advice on the matter, but only discussed scenario planning. The White House declined to comment.