Weakened Iran could pursue nuclear weapon

23/12/2024 6:08

The Biden administration is concerned

that a weakened Iran could build a nuclear weapon, White House

National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, adding

that he was briefing President-elect Donald Trump's team on the

risk.



Iran has suffered setbacks to its regional influence after

Israel's assaults on its allies, Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's

Hezbollah, followed by the fall of Iran-aligned Syrian President

Bashar al-Assad.



Israeli strikes on Iranian facilities, including missile

factories and air defenses, have reduced Tehran's conventional

military capabilities, Sullivan told CNN.



"It's no wonder there are voices (in Iran) saying, 'Hey,

maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now ... Maybe we

have to revisit our nuclear doctrine'," Sullivan said.



Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has

expanded uranium enrichment since Trump, in his 2017-2021

presidential term, pulled out of a deal between Tehran and world

powers that put restrictions on Iran's nuclear activity in

exchange for sanctions relief.



Sullivan said that there was a risk that Iran might abandon

its promise not to build nuclear weapons.



"It's a risk we are trying to be vigilant about now. It's a

risk that I'm personally briefing the incoming team on,"

Sullivan said, adding that he had also consulted with U.S. ally

Israel.



Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, could return to his

hardline Iran policy by stepping up sanctions on Iran's oil

industry.

Sullivan said Trump would have an opportunity to pursue

diplomacy with Tehran, given Iran's "weakened state."



"Maybe he can come around this time, with the situation Iran

finds itself in, and actually deliver a nuclear deal that curbs

Iran's nuclear ambitions for the long term," he said.