Iran could go ahead and build nuclear weapons after losses among its Middle East allies left it ‘weakened’, White House warns

Iran could take steps to become a nuclear power after being severely weakened by wars in the Middle East, the White House warned.

Jake Sullivan, Joe Biden’s national security adviser, said he has personally warned President-elect Donald Trump to be “vigilant” about the threat of a possible nuclear escalation in the Middle East, which is increasingly suffering from the growing wars.

Iran’s key allies, Hamas, Hezbollah and the former Syrian government led by dictator Bashar al-Assad, have all been seriously damaged or completely destroyed in the past year, which Sullivan warned would put the nation, led by Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, at risk could encourage you to leave. nuclear.

‘It is a risk that we are now trying to be vigilant about. It is a risk that I am personally briefing the incoming team on,” Sullivan said, adding that he had also consulted with US ally Israel.

The new Trump administration appears to be taking the threat seriously Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that he and his team had seriously considered launching pre-emptive strikes against Iran.

He reportedly told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that he is incredibly concerned that Iran could become nuclear weapons while he is in power, and that he was hatching plans to prevent this.

But the attacks would mark a major break in the long-standing policy of dealing with Iran through sanctions and diplomacy.

In addition to the strikes, Trump is considering imposing stricter economic sanctions on Iran than when he was last in power.

A view of the exhibition as Iran displays its missiles, satellite-bearing missiles and air defense systems, including the missiles and drones used in the Israeli attack, at the permanent exhibition center of the Revolutionary Guards Army’s Aviation and Space Park in the capital Tehran , Iran on October 17, 2024

Iran currently has enough enriched uranium to produce four nuclear bombs, making it the only country without nuclear weapons to produce near-weapon-grade fissile material.

If it wanted to, it would take just a few days to convert this into weapons-grade nuclear fuel.

It comes amid reports that Iran has orchestrated teenagers to attack Jewish and Israeli targets in Europe as part of its campaign to dominate the Middle East.

Researchers have linked at least three cases in Stockholm and Gothenburg in which teenagers as young as 13 have been hired by Iranian-linked actors to bring hell to Israel-linked companies or diplomatic missions.

Bloomberg reported that the security services of Sweden and Norway, which have long been open societies with minimal levels of policing, are particularly vulnerable to these attacks.

Would-be attackers are contacted via WhatsApp, Telegram or TikTok, according to Peter Nesser, a terrorism researcher at the Norwegian Defense Research Institute, where they are offered as little as €1,500 (£1,242) for murder.

Meanwhile, a petrol bomb attack can cost as little as €120.