American and European diplomats are increasingly concerned that Iranian hardliners are gaining strength in their efforts to advance Iran’s nuclear program, The Guardian reports. This development comes amidst the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict and Iran’s decision to reduce cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
At last week’s IAEA quarterly conference, Western powers opted not to introduce new resolutions criticizing Tehran, seeking to avoid potential escalation while the West tries to contain the fallout from the Gaza war. However, delegates at the meeting did issue warnings about the trajectory of Iran’s nuclear program.
IAEA Director Rafael Grossi expressed concern that the organization has lost “continuity of knowledge” regarding Iran’s production and stockpiling of centrifuges, rotors, heavy water and uranium ore concentrate.
Russian delegate Mikhail Ulyanov blamed the situation on U.S. actions and warned that it was “full of danger and risks getting out of control.”
Adding to the concern, hardliners dominated Iran’s parliamentary elections last week.
These developments come as Iran’s nuclear program continues to evolve, with advancements in enrichment, uranium metal production and centrifuge research, as detailed in a report by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
The situation has led to fears that the original goals of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) may no longer be achievable, and the United States may need to reassess its approach to detecting and containing Iran’s nuclear ambitions.
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5 Responses
good morning; have you ever expected any different outcome?!
Huh? Iran has nuclear weapons? How could that be? The IAEA was on top of them! This can’t be! The Iranians have even assured the the world that they’re not pursuing a nuclear weapons program. This has to be a bogus story!
This morning on MTP:
Sen. Lindsey Graham says Israel-Hamas war ‘will not be over’ if hostages are released: “when the president of the United States talks about Bibi and not Hamas, we’re missing the boat here. When you talk about red lines against Israel, we should be talking about red lines against Iran. Israel’s not killing American soldiers. Iran is, through their proxies. So, I would urge President Biden to hold the great Satan, Iran, accountable for killing soldiers in Jordan and attacking shipping. So, yeah, I think he’s got it backwards. We should be all-in in helping Israel. We should try to help the humanitarian crisis. But don’t say or do anything that would empower our enemy.”
Iran is on the verge of a war with the United States (note whose ships they are shooting at in the Red Sea), and it would be foolish of them not to develop nuclear weapons, or to try to acquire them from their allies (Russia or China), or even from Pakistan (perhaps making concessions to get the weapons).
If the Israelis don’t have a substantial nuclear arsenal, with launch vehicles, capable of destroying Iran, and injuring Russia, then it appears the Israeli leadership is being suicidal. The Israeli worst case scenario has always assumed a one on one war with superpowers (originally, it was how to deal with the Germans if they won World War II), so one assume the Israelis are ready, though after Oct. 7, the competence of the Israelis is subject to question.
In other words, to sum up the previous comments on this thread, we hope that Biden says that Iran will have a “come to jesus” moment as he put it. I want to see how that one goes over.