Sullivan: I Have Not Seen Any Movement from Iran to Decide on Building Nuclear Weapons

Jake Sullivan, the National Security Advisor to the U.S. President, stated that he has not seen any movement from the Islamic Republic of Iran regarding a decision to build a nuclear bomb. Sullivan made this remark while speaking at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado on Friday, July 29, in line with statements from senior U.S. officials about monitoring any signs of Iran's potential decision to develop nuclear weapons. He told reporters, "If they start moving in that direction, they will have a real problem with the United States." Sullivan's comments come as U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a separate meeting in Colorado that Iran is only "one or two weeks" away from producing the necessary materials to build a nuclear weapon. Blinken added, "Since the nuclear agreement has been set aside, Iran is now likely only one or two weeks away from being able to produce fissile material for a nuclear weapon, instead of being at least a year away." The Islamic Republic of Iran resumed progress in its nuclear program after the Trump administration's withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2015. Since the U.S. exited the JCPOA during Donald Trump's presidency in 2018, this important agreement, aimed at limiting Iran's nuclear activities in exchange for lifting some sanctions, has collapsed. Negotiations between Tehran and the remaining countries in the JCPOA, along with the U.S., to revive this agreement have stalled since the "Women, Life, Freedom" protests in 2022 and Iran's demands for "beyond the JCPOA" issues. Iran has not formally exited the agreement, but due to U.S. sanctions, it has reduced its commitments. The Islamic Republic claims that its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, but officials have recently stated that if Iran is attacked or its existence is threatened by Israel, it may reconsider its "nuclear doctrine." However, Iran's poor performance with conventional weapons during its direct attack on Israel has drawn observers' attention to the potential increase in Iran's interest in advancing nuclear weapons. Following the aforementioned attacks, Israel announced that the U.S. and other allies intercepted 99% of about 300 missiles and drones launched by Iran after the attack attributed to Israel on the Iranian consulate building in Damascus on April 1. In that attack, Mohammad Reza Zahedi and his deputy Mohammad Hadi Haj Rahimi, two senior commanders of the Revolutionary Guard, along with five members of the Guard, a Hezbollah commander, and four Syrian citizens were killed. Sullivan also noted that U.S. attention has been drawn to "increased public remarks by Iranian officials about this possibility" since the April attacks and the conflicts between Iran and Israel and its allies. Khamenei referred to the failure of Iranian missiles to hit Israel as a "secondary issue." He added, "These remarks were new. They caught our attention." Following the surprise attack by the extremist group Hamas along with other armed Palestinian groups on Israel last October, which led to the Gaza war, senior officials of the Islamic Republic have explicitly increased their verbal attacks on Israel. Hostility between Iran and Israel has intensified as the Israeli army's war with the extremist group Hamas and clashes with Hezbollah in Lebanon, which are considered Iranian proxies in the region, have continued for months.