Feared loss of allies and a weak condition that may prompt Iran to manufacture nuclear weapons has been compelling the incoming Donald Trump administration to consider all possible ways in which Iran can be barred from developing a nuclear weapon. This includes even an armed preemptive strike, a report said.
US President-elect Donald Trump is considering options to prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, and a preemptive strike on Iranian nuclear facilities is reportedly on the table.
Formally, Iran has maintained the nuclear weapons program in limbo since 2003. However, it has continued to increase nuclear fuel enrichment in recent years. Currently, Iran has enriched atomic fuel to near-weapons grade level and is capable of developing weapons-grade level fuel in a short time if it wishes to.
In such a scenario, the incoming Trump administration is considering options that could prevent Iran from developing a nuclear weapon, which vary from ramped-up sanctions, sanctions combined with military pressure, to preemptive strikes to destroy nuclear facilities, according to the Wall Street Journal.
An Iranian nuclear weapon has long been a red line for the United States and its ally Israel. The outgoing Joe Biden administration also pledged not to let Iran from building a nuclear weapon. Nevertheless, such a move would be a backtrack on long-standing US policy, avoiding actions likely to draw the country directly into war with Iran. Even plans for such preemptive strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities during Trump’s first term were scuttled (2017-21).
