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In a meeting in the Oval Office on Thursday, Trump is said to have asked Vice President Mike Pence and Foreign Secretary Mike Pompeo, “if he has an opportunity to take action against Iran’s most important nuclear site in the coming weeks.” The New York Times reported on Monday (local time).
His advisers, including Chief of Staff Mark Milley, advised the outgoing president against a military attack and warned of an escalation of the conflict in the final weeks of his presidency.
Trump is said to have asked the question after a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA / IAEA) last week revealed that Iran has more lightly enriched uranium than the 2015 International Atomic Energy Agreement allows. According to the The New York Times, the most likely target of such an attack would be the Natanz nuclear facility, where “twelve times more uranium is stored than allowed.”
In 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the agreement concluded three years earlier in Vienna and has since imposed numerous sanctions on Iran, which has put Iran’s economy to the test. In return, Tehran has increasingly begun to ignore provisions of the agreement.
The rest of the contracting parties, including Great Britain, France and Germany, await a new diplomatic attempt in the nuclear conflict with Iran after the election of the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Biden is scheduled to take office on January 20. However, outgoing incumbent Trump had announced that he would step up measures against Iran. Critics see it as an attempt to build a “wall of sanctions” against the country, which Biden was only able to tear down again with difficulty.
Trump has yet to admit his defeat to Biden and speaks of alleged election fraud without any evidence. It also denies Biden’s team access to government information, including intelligence reports, which are considered essential for a smooth transition of power.
