Weakened in war with Israel, Iran may decide to build nukes, White House tells Trump
FirstpostAs Iran stands considerably weakened after more than a year of war with Israel, it may decide to develop nuclear weapons to restore deterrence, the White House has told the incoming Donald Trump administration After being weakened in the conflict with Israel over the past year, Iran may decide to build a nuclear weapon, the White House has told the incoming Donald Trump administration. Amid such a situation, Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor of outgoing President Joe Biden has told the incoming Trump administration that Iran may decide to develop nuclear weapons as it finds itself cornered in front of Israel. Sullivan told CNN, “You’re looking around at the fact that your conventional capability has been reduced, your proxies have been reduced, your main client state has been eliminated, Assad has fallen, it’s no wonder there are voices saying, ‘hey, maybe we need to go for a nuclear weapon right now’.” Sullivan said that there is a “real risk” of Iran deciding to develop a nuclear weapon amid such a situation and he has been briefing the incoming Trump administration on the situation. I was just in Israel consulting with the Israelis on this risk and it’s something that is the consequence not of Iranian strength, but of Iranian weakness and that’s the kind of thing that, in a dynamic and challenging Middle East American statecraft is going to have to account for.” Sullivan’s remarks come days after Wall Street Journal reported that Trump has been concerned about Iran developing a nuclear weapon on his watch and that his team has been fleshing out options to deal with the situation, ranging from harsher sanctions to pre-emptive strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities.