Outgoing CIA Director William Burns reiterated in an interview with NPR published on Friday that the US has not seen any sign that Iran has decided to build a nuclear weapon.
Burns was asked if the losses Iran and its allies have faced in recent months would make it more likely that Tehran would make a nuclear bomb. He said there was no indication that Tehran would reverse a public fatwa made by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in 2003 that prohibited the development of weapons of mass destruction.
“We do not see any sign today that any such decision has been made, but we obviously watch it intently. You know that that sense of weakness could also theoretically create a possibility for serious negotiations, too,” Burns said.
Burns made similar comments in October and said at the time that if Iran did decide to make a bomb, US intelligence would likely be able to “see it relatively early on.”
The CIA chief’s latest comments come after media reports have said both the Biden administration and the incoming Trump administration are considering military actions against Iran’s nuclear program over claims that Tehran may be making advancements toward producing a weapon.
According to a report from Axios, Israeli Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer left a meeting with Trump in November believing it was highly likely he would either support Israeli strikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities or order a direct US strike on Iran.
The hype about Iran’s nuclear program is focused on the enrichment of some uranium at 60% purity, which is still below the 90% needed for weapons-grade. Iran took the step to enrich at 60% in response to an Israeli covert attack on its Natanz nuclear facility in 2021.
Iran is also a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, unlike Israel, which never signed the NPT and has a covert nuclear stockpile that’s not officially acknowledged by the US.
