{"id":1566110,"date":"2022-07-22T08:04:13","date_gmt":"2022-07-22T12:04:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1566110"},"modified":"2022-07-22T09:21:05","modified_gmt":"2022-07-22T13:21:05","slug":"now-is-the-time-to-stop-iran-from-building-a-nuclear-weapon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/now-is-the-time-to-stop-iran-from-building-a-nuclear-weapon\/","title":{"rendered":"Now Is the Time to Stop Iran From Building a Nuclear Weapon"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">24<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnow-is-the-time-to-stop-iran-from-building-a-nuclear-weapon%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1566110&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><div><\/div>\n<p><strong>Iran Brags About Capacity to Build A-Bomb \u2013 <\/strong>Sometimes, you have to take a political figure at his word\u2014even in Iran, where government officials are known for their mendacity and deceptiveness. And it\u2019s especially important to listen when he\u2019s talking about something as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/07\/joe-bidens-magical-thinking-on-iran\/\">high-stakes<\/a> as Iran\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/07\/iran-close-to-a-bomb-time-to-decide\/\">nuclear program<\/a> and imperial ambitions.<\/p>\n<p>On July 17, Kamal Kharrazi, Iran\u2019s former foreign minister and a senior adviser to Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/middle-east\/khamenei-adviser-says-tehran-capable-building-nuclear-bomb-al-jazeera-2022-07-17\/\">told Al-Jazeera TV<\/a>:\n<\/p>\n<p><em>\u2026 we can easily produce 90% enriched uranium. \u2026 Iran [also] has the technical means to produce a nuclear bomb, but there has been no decision by Iran to build one.<\/em>\n<\/p>\n<p>While we already had a good understanding of Iran\u2019s uranium enrichment capability, the news here is the public admission by a senior government official that Teheran has the technical capability to build a nuclear weapon.<\/p>\n<p>Previous public comments had danced around the issue. For example, in April, former Iranian parliament member <a href=\"https:\/\/www.memri.org\/reports\/former-iranian-majles-member-ali-motahari-when-iran-started-its-nuclear-program-our-goal-was\">Ali Motahari<\/a>, told an Iranian news outlet, \u201cWhen we began our nuclear activity, our goal was indeed to build a bomb. There is no need to beat around the bush.\u201d He then added, \u201cIf we could have kept it [a secret] until we performed a [nuclear] test, then it would have been a done deal. Like in Pakistan.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<p>Kharrazi\u2019s comments are noteworthy because they were given to a foreign news network; Al-Jazeera TV is based in Qatar.\u00a0 More importantly, his comments \u00a0came just days after President Biden and Israeli Prime Minister Yair Lapid jointly issued the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.whitehouse.gov\/briefing-room\/statements-releases\/2022\/07\/14\/the-jerusalem-u-s-israel-strategic-partnership-joint-declaration\/\">Jerusalem Declaration<\/a>, in which the United States declared a \u201ccommitment never to allow Iran to acquire a nuclear weapon, and that it is prepared to use all elements of its national power to ensure that outcome.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Western intelligence and policy communities have long questioned how long it would take Iran to weaponize highly enriched uranium to build a functional nuclear weapon. It\u2019s no small scientific and technological achievement.\n<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, it\u2019s one thing to be able to produce the necessary amount of fissile material to build a nuclear weapon; it\u2019s another thing to be able to make that highly enriched uranium into a device that will go <em>boom<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n<p>Indirect negotiations between Iran and the United States over reviving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2021\/05\/nuclear-spring-why-the-jcpoa-remains-flawed-and-how-to-fix-it\/\">JCPOA<\/a>) have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2021\/02\/america-rejoining-the-jcpoa-wont-help-irans-moderates\/\">bogged down<\/a> since last year and completely <a href=\"https:\/\/www.heritage.org\/middle-east\/report\/time-the-biden-administration-get-tough-iran\">stalemated<\/a> since March.\n<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s possible, therefore, that Kharazzi\u2019s shocking announcement is little more than bluster\u2014a ploy to improve Teheran\u2019s bargaining leverage to extract more concessions from Washington on its maximalist demands.\n<\/p>\n<p>Still, the United States must be prepared for a worst-case scenario in which diplomacy fails and Iran decides to build and field nuclear weapons.\n<\/p>\n<p>Consequently, it\u2019s time to move beyond the Biden administration\u2019s flagging efforts to bring Iran back into a \u201clonger and stronger\u201d nuclear deal and take a tougher approach toward Tehran and its run-away nuclear program. Instead of complacently continuing open-ended diplomacy that seems to be going nowhere, here are six steps the United States should take.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Ramp up U.S. sanctions on Iran<\/u><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> The Administration relaxed its enforcement of sanctions in a misguided effort to lure Tehran back into the nuclear deal. That needs to be reversed. More money in Iran\u2019s pockets only means more trouble for U.S. interests, including terrorism and its nuclear and missile programs.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Work with European allies to \u201csnap back\u201d U.N. sanctions<\/u><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> The United Kingdom, France and Germany also are part of the 2015 nuclear agreement and can trigger the automatic reimposition of multilateral U.N. sanctions on Iran under the JCPOA. The sanctions snapback would help to isolate Iran politically and economically.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Develop, with allies, a favorable military force posture in the Persian Gulf region to balance Iran<\/u><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> The Pentagon, its allies, and partners should muster sufficient capability in the region to dissuade, deter, and defeat Iranian acts of aggression. They should also jointly develop contingency plans for strikes on Iran\u2019s nuclear program, if necessary.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Strengthen the security of regional allies and partners<\/u><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> The U.S. should help bolster regional defenses against Iranian ballistic and cruise missiles, rockets, and armed drones\u2014some of which could eventually be armed with a nuclear warhead\u2014by developing an integrated air defense system that also enhances the security of U.S. forces in the region.\n<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Bolster Israel\u2019s ability to deter Iran<\/u><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> Washington should accelerate the sales to Israel of aerial refueling tankers, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/05\/f-35i-israel-has-its-very-own-custom-stealth-fighter\/\">precision-guided munitions<\/a>, and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2020\/10\/30\/why-israel-needs-bunker-buster-bombs\/\">bunker-buster bombs<\/a> capable of destroying Iran\u2019s fortified underground nuclear facilities in case military action is necessary to prevent an Iranian nuclear breakout.<\/p>\n<p><strong><u>Expand the Abraham Accords<\/u><\/strong><strong>.<\/strong> The Biden Administration should strongly support the expansion of the 2020 accords to include <a href=\"https:\/\/www.19fortyfive.com\/2022\/01\/can-saudi-arabia-truly-change\/\">Saudi Arabia<\/a> and other Arab states threatened by Iran, clearing the way for expanded Arab-Israeli <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailysignal.com\/2022\/02\/24\/abraham-accords-sowing-seeds-of-peace-harvesting-fruits-of-prosperity\/\">security cooperation<\/a> against Tehran.\n<\/p>\n<p>Washington must take decisive action now. Failure to do so will only: increase Iran\u2019s threat to the U.S., its allies, and partners in the Middle East and beyond; embolden international terrorism; drive nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, and destabilize the region, deeply undermining American interests.\n<\/p>\n<p><em>James Phillips is Senior Research Fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs in The Heritage Foundation\u2019s Allison Center for Foreign Policy. Peter Brookes is Senior Research Fellow for Weapons of Mass Destruction and Counter-Proliferation in Heritage\u2019s Center for National Defense.<\/em>\n\t\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Iran Brags About Capacity to Build A-Bomb \u2013 Sometimes, you have to take a political figure at his word\u2014even in Iran, where government officials are known for their mendacity and<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1575022,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1566110","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1566110","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1566110"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1566110\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1575022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1566110"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1566110"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1566110"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}