President Joe Biden has discussed plans to strike Iran nuclear sites if Tehran moves toward development of a nuclear weapon before Jan. 20, reports Axios.
The report cited three sources with knowledge of a discussion that took place last month between Biden and his national security team.
Iran has enough fissile material that, if further enriched, would be sufficient for "more than a dozen nuclear weapons," according to a November report published by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
U.N. nuclear watchdog chief Rafael Grossi told Reuters in December that Iran is "dramatically" accelerating its enrichment of uranium to up to 60% purity, closer to the roughly 90% level that is weapons grade. Tehran denies pursuing nuclear weapons and says its program is peaceful.
In 2018, the then administration of President Donald Trump exited Iran's 2015 nuclear pact with six major powers and reimposed harsh sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to violate the pact's nuclear limits with moves such as rebuilding stockpiles of enriched uranium, refining it to higher fissile purity, and installing advanced centrifuges to speed up output.
Indirect talks between Biden's administration and Tehran to try to revive the pact have failed, but Trump said during his election campaign in September, "We have to make a deal because the consequences are impossible. We have to make a deal."
Information from Reuters was used in this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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