Biden keeps strikes on nuclear sites on table if Iran moves to develop nukes: Report – Firstpost

In the final months and weeks of his term, outgoing President Joe Biden has kept attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities on the table if Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei orders the development of nuclear weapons, according to a report.

The news comes at a time when there are fears that the Iranian regime, battered from the yearlong conflict with Israel, could decide to develop a nuclear weapon to restore deterrence in the region. However, in recent years, even as Iran stepped up the enrichment of nuclear fuel, it has not yet enriched fuel to weapons-grade level and has not yet started developing a weapon — the development of the nuclear weapon can only started once Khamenei gives formal approval.

Amid such a situation, Axios has reported that Biden has discussed options with his national security team about options if Khamenei gives such an approval.

One of those options includes hitting the Iranian nuclear facilities, according to the report.

The news of Biden keeping attacks on Iranian nuclear sites on the table comes amid reports that
Israel has also started drawing plans for attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites and that incoming US President Donald
Trump has also weighed his options regarding the Iranian nuclear programme, including attacks on nuclear sites.

Biden chalked out action plan if Iran moved ahead with bomb

In the final months of the term, as assessments indicated that Iran could decide to develop a nuclear weapon as its conventional deterrence stands eroded in West Asia, the Biden administration chalked out an action plan.

Axios has reported that National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan presented Biden with options if Iran moved towards developing a nuclear weapon, including potential attacks on Iran’s nuclear facilities.

After two rounds of aerial battles with Israel, Iran stands essentially naked as its air defences have been neutralised. The anti-Iran groups that it supports in the region, such as Hamas and Hezbollah, have also been battered and are a shadow of their former selves. Syria, which provided Iran and armed groups it supported with strategic depth in the region, has also been lost with the ouster of Bashar al-Assad.

With such a spectacular loss of conventional deterrence, there are concerns that Iran may move towards developing a nuclear weapon.

Even as Biden kept attacks on Iran’s nuclear sites on the table, he did not issue any order.

A US official told Axios that the meeting around one month back, which discussed options regarding the Iranian nuclear programme, was not based on any new intelligence and was not intended to produce a yes or no decision. Instead, the official said the meeting was to discuss “prudent scenario planning” of how the Biden administration should respond if Iran were to take steps that indicate its intent to develop a nuclear weapon.

The official said such a step would include enriching nuclear fuel uranium to 90 per cent weapons-grade level.

No new evidence that Iran has started developing nukes: Report

The Axios reported that the meeting to discuss plans regarding the Iranian nuclear programme was not based on any new intelligence.

The report further said that, in the absence of any new information indicating Iran has started developing nuclear weapons, Biden decided to not order an attack on Iranian nuclear facilities.

The report said that Biden honed in on the question of urgency to attack Iran’s nuclear sites and whether Iran had taken steps that justify such an attack and that too just weeks before the swearing-in of a new administration.

The report said that some of Biden’s top officials, including Sullivan, believe that the time is ripe for attacking Iran. The report said these officials believe that as Iran stands battered at the moment, Iran’s retaliation would be off the table.

In recent time, Iran has ramped up uranium enrichment to 60 per cent, which is just short of weapons-grade level of 90 per cent.

The Biden administration believes that the order to ramp up the enrichment to 90 per cent has not yet come.

Whenever such an order comes, the administration has previously said publicly that Iran may have enough weapons-grade uranium to make a bomb in a week or two. From there, US and Israeli assessments have said Iran could develop a warhead in 12-18 months.

However, in the airstrikes inside Iran this month,
Israel destroyed a sophisticated component of nuclear bombmaking that has dealt a considerable setback to Iran. This means that even if Iran decides to develop a nuclear weapon, it faces several obstacles.