Why the Next President Should Start Worrying and Fear the (Iran) Bomb

Since 2018, Israel̓ s daring covert seizure of Iranʼs nuclear archives has laid bare Tehranʼs concerted campaign to deceive the world about the full extent of its weaponization efforts, including its failure to come clean to the IAEA as part of the JCPOAs̓ implementation process.7 In early 2023, then Chairman of the Joint Chiefs Gen. [...] Instead, the assessment reportedly concluded that Iran has “undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so.”11 Why the Next President Should Start Worrying and Fear the (Iran) Bomb 10 Recent Statements of Iran’s Capacity to Weaponize a Nuclear Bomb Date Official Statement Head of Iran's “This is not about not having the capability. [...] Why the Next President Should Start Worrying and Fear the (Iran) Bomb 13 Even before taking office, the Biden team pledged to do everything possible to prevent a nuclear Iran, while focusing its actions almost exclusively on reentering, extending, and strengthening the JCPOA nuclear deal. [...] In seeking to “manage” regional escalation and categorically avoid further risk, including at times by inserting conspicuous daylight in its strategic relations with Israel, the Biden team is actually encouraging and incentivizing Tehran to increase the levels of risk by embroiling the United States and Israel more deeply in proxy conflict, and thereby create time and diversions to aid its nuclear. [...] At the same time, the window for preventing a nuclear Iran will close further as the costs and uncertainties of prevention continue growing – especially if Tehran and other adversaries try to seize on any perceived instability or lack of leadership surrounding the presidential transition in Washington.