President-elect Donald Trump is weighing whether to launch preemptive airstrikes on Iran to prevent them building a nuclear weapon, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The move comes amid what Trump's transition team believes is Iran's weakened position in the region after the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Iran has enough highly enriched uranium to build four nuclear bombs, The Journal reported. Trump also plans to use strict economic sanctions to deter Iran, according to The Journal.
One option would involve sending more U.S. troops, warplanes, and ships to the Middle East while also arming Israel with firepower to take Iran's nuclear facilities offline, The Journal reported.
Another option would be to threaten Iran with military force and paired with U.S. imposed sanctions, force Iran to accept a diplomatic resolution, the Journal said.
Trump considered launching preemptive strikes on Iran's nuclear program during his first term after it was revealed Iran's stockpile of nuclear material had grown, according to The Journal.
Still, some of Trump's allies insist his first months back in office present him with the rare opportunity to counter Iran's nuclear buildup while the regime is in a weakened position.
Israel has long wanted to attack Iran's nuclear facilities but has been warned against doing so by the U.S.
"There is strong support for Israel to take military action as they deem in their interests," said Gabriel Noronha, who worked on Iran policy at the State Department during the first Trump administration to The Journal. "Iran does not have much room to go before they hit [Israel's] red lines, and they still seem intent on escalating further."
Sanctions by the incoming Trump administration include redesignating the Iran-backed Houthis as a foreign terrorist organization and prohibiting countries that buy Iranian oil from purchasing American energy. But some feel more needs to be done.
Iran "is actively trying to kill President Trump," a person on the transition told The Journal. "That certainly influences everybody's thinking when it comes to what the relationship is out the gate."
Iran has said it will not try to assassinate Trump. Javad Zarif, Iran's vice president for strategic affairs said to Foreign Affairs, the country's president Masoud Pezeshkian is ready to manage tensions with the United States.
Iranian officials said a preemptive strike would cause them to kick out U.N. inspectors and leave the Non-Proliferation Treaty, The Journal reported.
Sam Barron ✉
Sam Barron has almost two decades of experience covering a wide range of topics including politics, crime and business.
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