CIA Chief: No Evidence Iran Has Decided to Develop a Nuclear Weapon

The admission comes after the US and Iran resumed indirect negotiations to revive the nuclear deal

On Monday, CIA Director William Burns said the US does not have evidence that Iran has decided to weaponize its nuclear program.

The CIA “doesn’t see any evidence that Iran’s Supreme Leader [Ali Khamenei] has made a decision to move to weaponize,” Burns told The Wall Street Journal’s annual CEO Council, The Times of Israel reported.

Burns’ admission comes a week after the US and Iran resumed indirect negotiations in Vienna to revive the nuclear deal, known as the JCPOA. The latest round of talks concluded Friday and are expected to resume this Thursday.

Israeli officials have been claiming that Iran is only trying to buy time with the negotiations as it secretly develops a nuclear bomb. For decades now, Israel has been making similar warnings, but Iran has always insisted it does not want nuclear weapons and Israel is currently the only nuclear-armed state in the region.

Burns’ comments counter the Israeli claims and could be a sign that the US might be breaking from Israel on the issue. Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett demanded to Secretary of State Antony Blinken that the US must “immediately” halt negotiations with Iran.

Author: Dave DeCamp

Dave DeCamp is the news editor of Antiwar.com, follow him on Twitter @decampdave.