U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan speaks during a press conference in Tel Aviv, Israel, December 12, 2024.
Abil Sultan | via Reuters
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said Sunday that the Biden administration is concerned that a weakened Iran could decide to build a nuclear weapon, and that President-elect Donald Trump has expressed concerns about that risk. He added that he was explaining this to his team.
Iran is reeling from a setback in its regional influence after Israeli attacks on its Palestinian allies Hamas and Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the subsequent fall of Syrian-Iranian alliance President Bashar al-Assad.
Sullivan told CNN that Iran’s “conventional capabilities” are also declining, citing recent Israeli attacks on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defense facilities.
Sullivan told CNN: “It’s no wonder that there are voices[within Iran]saying, ‘We may need to develop nuclear weapons now…We may need to reconsider our nuclear principles.'” spoke.
Iran insists its nuclear program is peaceful, but since withdrawing from an agreement between Iran and world powers to curb Iran’s nuclear ambitions during the first term of the Trump administration, it has ramped up uranium enrichment. are.
Sullivan said there was a “real risk” that Iran would revise its position that it “does not seek to develop nuclear weapons.”
“This is a risk that we are trying to guard against right now, and I have personally briefed the incoming team on this risk,” Sullivan said, adding that he had also consulted with Israel, an ally of the United States, on the issue. Ta.
President Trump, who takes office on January 20, is likely to tighten sanctions on Iran’s oil industry despite calls for a return to negotiations from critics who see diplomacy as a more effective long-term policy. expensive.
