Senior Iranian leaders on Thursday signaled the country is on the brink of restarting its contested nuclear weapons program, disclosing the Islamic Republic is prepared to restart the full-scale enrichment of uranium, the key component in a nuclear weapon, if it does not continue to receive cash windfalls from European countries still committed to the landmark nuclear agreement.
The possibility of new European Union sanctions against Iran to punish the hardline regime for terror plots in France and Denmark could set the course for a more unified Western policy toward Tehran’s non-nuclear threats, according to a regional expert.
The Trump administration has allowed European countries to continue cooperating with Iran’s nuclear activities at a contested, secretive facility where Iran had wanted to make weapons-grade uranium, one of many loopholes in the recently announced sanctions reimposition that Iran hawks have criticized as being too weak.
Congress is working to pass new legislation that would completely cut Iran’s access to international financial systems amid criticism by Iran hawks claiming the Trump administration’s Treasury Department is seeking to keep these financial lines open, a major concession to Tehran and European allies scrambling to save the landmark nuclear agreement.
Sen. Tom Cotton (R., Ark.) released a statement on Wednesday applauding Secretary of State Mike Pompeo for withdrawing the United States from the 1955 Treaty of Amity with Iran.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Iran of having a “secret atomic warehouse” in Tehran for its illicit nuclear weapons program during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Thursday.
Sen. Marco Rubio (R., Fla.) has asked the Department of Justice to determine whether former Secretary of State John Kerry broke federal law by meeting with the Iranian Foreign Minister to try to preserve the Iran nuclear deal.
