(John McCann, Headline USA) In a statement that was sure to send shockwaves across the Middle East, an Iranian official has claimed that the rogue Islamic republic is now fully capable of building a nuclear weapon.
As reported by the Jerusalem Post, a senior advisor to the Ayotollah Khamenei revealed that Tehran was only a few simple steps away from nuclear armament. Such a revelation could have dire consequences for the Mideast’s security and geopolitical landscape.
The advisor, Kamal Kharrazi, dropped the news during an interview Sunday with Al Jazeera.
“In a few days we were able to enrich uranium up to 60% and we can easily produce 90% enriched uranium,” he stated. “Iran has the technical means to produce a nuclear bomb, but there is no decision by Iran to build one.”
It comes shortly after the country last week appeared to hint at a strategic military alliance with Russia, to whom Iran is believed to be providing drones for its war with Ukraine.
The Islamic People’s Republic has long promised that their refining efforts held the simple goal of civilian energy usage.
However, many of Iran’s neighbors, chiefly Israel and Saudi Arabia, have long suspected Iran’s intentions to be militaristic.
This shift in Iranian rhetoric has come in the wake of President Joe Biden’s recent trip to the region, in which he sought to assure both the Israelis and Saudis of their security.
While in Israel, the President met with Israeli Prime Ministor Yair Lapid. At the meeting, the two leaders signed a joint declaration vowing to prevent Iranian nuclearization, the Western Journal reported.
Biden reiterated the America’s commitments in the region by stating, “the United States stresses that integral to this pledge is the commitment never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that it is prepared to use all elements of it’s national power to ensure that outcome.”
Talks between Washington and Tehran have stalled since March.
The Biden administration has sought to revive the Iran nuclear deal first negotiated by the Obama White House, but the mullahs of Iran have not budged.
Iran’s renewed saber-rattling has provided new context as to why the president has only just now visited the region.
With gas prices still stubbornly high due to U.S domestic policy, many assumed Biden’s aim was to convince the Saudis to increase oil exports. While those discussions were certainly on the table, the threat of nuclear Iran has put many in the region on edge.
Only time will tell if the Iranians are serious about their capabilities.
