New US intelligence on Iran's nuclear program, gathered in the final months of the Biden administration and passed to the Trump team, indicates that a secret group of Iranian scientists is studying a shorter path that would allow them to turn growing nuclear fuel reserves into operational weapons in a few months, not a year, reports The New York Times citing senior officials.
It is noted that at present, the Iranian authorities have not made a decision to develop nuclear weapons, moreover, the new president of Iran is actively seeking negotiations with the Trump administration, but the approach may change.
The Iranian military is seriously studying 'new deterrent options' and protection against Israel and the USA following Israeli strikes on the country's territory, the weakening of the Lebanese 'Hezbollah' and the Palestinian Hamas, as well as the change of power in Syria.
In 2018, US President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal from the agreement on Iran's nuclear program. After this, the country resumed uranium production, and now it has, according to NYT, enough uranium enriched to 60% to create four to five bombs. However, according to US intelligence estimates, it would take from a year to 18 months to turn highly enriched uranium into a complex warhead capable of being mounted on a ballistic missile.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, who took office in July, has repeatedly stated that he would like to negotiate a new agreement. However, as the publication notes, he may not be aware of what the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps is working on, preparing a nuclear option.
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