“We have made clear to Iran that it can never be permitted to obtain a nuclear weapon. As President [Joe] Biden has repeatedly reaffirmed, he will take the actions that are necessary to stand by this statement, including by recognizing Israel’s freedom of action,” the White House official said.
Sullivan added that Washington will keep “engaging Iran diplomatically regarding its nuclear program.”
He described as a “tragic mistake” the decision to quit the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) “with nothing at all to replace it.”
The White House adviser stated that his country was not rejecting attempts to forge an agreement on Iran’s nuclear program and views it as the best way to achieve the intended result.
Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant claimed on Thursday Iran already possesses the means to make as many as five nuclear bombs.
In March, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley predicted that Tehran could produce enough nuclear material for a bomb within weeks. The US general admitted, however, that the Islamic Republic would still need “several months” to make it into a bomb.
Tehran has repeatedly stated that it has no intention of developing nuclear weapons, with Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei even issuing religious edicts against the atom bomb and other weapons of mass destruction.
Back in mid-April, Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi warned that any hostile move from Israel “will lead to the destruction of Haifa and Tel Aviv.” Speaking at an annual military parade, Raisi called on the US and other “extra-regional” forces to leave the Middle East for their own good. Last year, Raisi issued a similar warning, saying that Iran’s armed forces would target “the center of the Zionist regime” if Israel made “the tiniest move against the nation of Iran.”
