[News] 'Israel’s' nuke hype vs. US intel: No active Iranian weapon plan

[Anti-Imperialist News]

english.almayadeen.net 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/-israel-s--nuke-hype-vs--us-intel--no-active-iranian-weapon> 



  'Israel’s' nuke hype vs. US intel: No active Iranian weapon plan

Al Mayadeen English
June 17, 2025
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The US intel refutes Israeli claims of imminent Iranian nuclear danger.

  * A satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows Iran’s Fordow
    plant. (AFP)
    <https://alpha-en-media.almayadeen.net/archive/image/2023/3/2/26fc8af4-9394-44f5-9852-b09dce04955a.jpg?v=3&width=1000>
    A satellite image provided by Maxar Technologies shows Iran’s Fordow
    plant /(AFP)/

As the Israeli occupation launched a series of strikes 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/20-arab--islamic-states-denounce-israeli-aggression-on-iran> 
on Iranian territory last week, it justified its actions by claiming 
Iran was rapidly approaching nuclear weapons capability.

However, US intelligence officials offered a sharply different 
assessment, concluding that Iran is not actively pursuing a nuclear bomb 
and is likely still years away from being able to build and deliver one 
to a target of its choosing, /CNN /reported, citing four people familiar 
with the assessment.

According to the officials, the US assesses that Iran is at least three 
years away from developing a deployable nuclear weapon.

One US official told /CNN/ that despite the extensive Israeli bombing 
campaign, including the heavily damaged Natanz enrichment facility, 
Iran’s core nuclear capability 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iran-signals-no-new-concessions-in-nuclear-talks-with-us--ws/>, 
particularly at Fordow, remains largely intact.

Fordow, a fortified enrichment plant built deep into a mountain, has not 
been significantly affected by the airstrikes. Experts say the site 
cannot be destroyed without advanced US weaponry, including 
bunker-busting bombs 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-supplied--israel--with-1-tonne-of-bombs-used-in-gaza-mass> 
and B-2 bombers, which the Israeli military does not possess.


    Fordow facility remains untouched, raises military dilemma

“Israel can hover over those nuclear facilities, render them inoperable, 
but if you really want to dismantle them it’s either a US military 
strike or a deal,” said Brett McGurk, a former US diplomat and Middle 
East expert.

The Trump administration faces a growing dilemma: while publicly 
distancing itself from the Israeli military operation, it acknowledges 
that only the US military has the capacity to eliminate key parts of 
Iran’s nuclear infrastructure, especially Fordow.

Trump told /ABC News/, “We’re not involved in it. It’s possible we could 
get involved. But we are not at this moment involved,” reflecting 
internal White House tensions between isolationist advisers and hawkish 
Republican allies pushing for stronger support for "Israel" 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/at-unsc-session--iran-accuses-us-of-complicity-in-israeli-ag>.

At the recent G7 summit in Canada, Trump urged Iran and "Israel" to 
enter negotiations “before it’s too late.” While taking a typical 
favorable stance toward "Israel", Trump has made clear that Iran must 
agree to strict nuclear curbs. “Simply stated, IRAN CAN NOT HAVE A 
NUCLEAR WEAPON,” he posted on Truth Social, reiterating his call for 
Tehran residents to evacuate the city.

Meanwhile, Iran has informed mediators in Qatar and Oman that it will 
not engage in talks while under active attack from "Israel". Tehran’s 
stance suggests that any US-brokered resolution is unlikely in the short 
term, as airstrikes continue and casualties mount.

The US military is repositioning assets in response to the intensifying 
war. The USS Nimitz Carrier Strike Group 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-aircraft-carrier-leaves-red-sea-amid-yemeni-pause-in-gaza> 
has been ordered to the Middle East “without delay", a US official 
confirmed. Naval forces capable of intercepting ballistic missiles are 
also moving toward the eastern Mediterranean, where US warships have 
already defended "Israel" against missile attacks on at least two 
occasions over the weekend.


      Intelligence gap widens as IAEA warns of uranium stockpile

The divergence in assessments between "Israel" and the US intelligence 
community is not new. In March, Director of National Intelligence Tulsi 
Gabbard testified before Congress that Iran had not resumed work on a 
nuclear weapons program since halting it in 2003.

Yet Israeli occupation Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/us-imposes-sanctions-on-icc-judges-over-netanyahu-arrest-war> 
insisted during a /Fox News/ interview that the intelligence "shared 
with the United States" clearly indicated that Iran was “working in a 
secret plan to weaponize uranium.”

A satellite image released on June 14 showed no visible damage to the 
Fordow Fuel Enrichment Plant 
<https://english.almayadeen.net/news/politics/iran-s-fordow-facility-ultimate-test-of-israeli-airpower--ft>, 
reinforcing fears that the Israeli strikes have not achieved their 
strategic goal.

“If this ends with Fordow intact, you could actually have a worse 
problem,” McGurk warned. “You could actually have Iran more inclined to 
go to a nuclear weapon, and they have that infrastructure intact.”

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