Blinken: Trump Can Prevent Iran from Acquiring Nuclear Weapons through Negotiation

Antony Blinken, the U.S. Secretary of State, stated that Donald Trump, the elected president of the United States, has the opportunity to negotiate with Iran and that Tehran's acquisition of nuclear weapons is not inevitable. Mr. Blinken, who is nearing the end of his tenure as the highest-ranking U.S. diplomat, acknowledged on Wednesday, December 19, that the Islamic Republic may be more seriously considering nuclear weapons now that it has suffered military setbacks in the region. In recent months, Israel has targeted some Iranian military sites in retaliatory strikes and has weakened Hezbollah, its key ally in Lebanon. Meanwhile, Syrian rebels have also overthrown the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which was another ally of Iran in the region. Antony Blinken said at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, 'I do not believe that their acquisition of nuclear weapons is inevitable.' He added, 'Given that they have suffered setbacks in defense, you should certainly expect that they will think more about [nuclear weapons] than before.' However, the U.S. Secretary of State also noted that Iran is aware of the consequences of acquiring nuclear weapons and continued, 'I think there is a prospect for negotiations.' Iran has denied accusations of seeking nuclear weapons, claiming that its nuclear program is purely peaceful. Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran, known as the JCPOA, which was reached after extensive negotiations during Barack Obama's presidency, and imposed heavy sanctions on Tehran. Blinken stated, 'President Trump, when he wanted to withdraw from the JCPOA, said he wanted a better and stronger agreement.' He emphasized that none of the U.S. administrations want Iran to acquire nuclear weapons. The U.S. Secretary of State then referred to this overarching view, saying, 'In any case, as I have been convinced that our government had such an intention, the next government will also have such an intention.' The administration of Joe Biden, the President of the United States, has engaged in indirect negotiations with Iran since it took office in 2021, aiming to revive the nuclear agreement. However, these negotiations have failed due to disagreements over the scope of sanctions relief, and Biden has increased pressure on Tehran since the October 7 attack by the extremist group Hamas on Israel due to Iran's support for this group. Following Donald Trump's victory in the presidential election on November 5 this year, reports emerged of Elon Musk, a Trump ally, meeting with a senior Iranian official. However, Iran has denied this report. On the other hand, Donald Trump recently stated in an interview with Time magazine, which named him 'Person of the Year,' that the possibility of a large-scale military conflict between the U.S. and Iran is not ruled out. Subsequently, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing several individuals close to the president-elect's transition team, that Mr. Trump and his associates are considering options to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, 'including preemptive airstrikes.'