Washington: President-elect Donald Trump is weighing options for stopping Iran from being able to build a nuclear weapon, including the possibility of preventive airstrikes, the Wall Street Journal newspaper reported on Friday, citing sources familiar with the situation.
The report read that during latest phone conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump has said that he was concerned about an Iranian nuclear breakout during his second presidential term and was looking for options to prevent such an outcome.
The newspaper reported that one of the options involved increasing military pressure by sending more US forces, warplanes, and ships to the Middle East. According to the second second, the United States may use military force together with sanctions to make Tehran accept a diplomatic resolution.
In 2015, Iran, the United Kingdom, Germany, China, Russia, the US and France, as well as the European Union, signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran nuclear deal, aimed at limiting the Iranian nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions against Tehran. Then-President Trump pulled the US from the deal and reintroduced sanctions in 2018, prompting Iran to renege on its obligations.
Iranian Atomic Energy Organization spokesman Behrouz Kamalvandi has earlier said that Tehran was ready to resume the nuclear deal, but this requires serious negotiations.
