Washington has not forgotten the threats made in 2005 by former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad against Israel calling for "wiping the country off the map." Since then, the United States has repeatedly obstructed Tehran's desire to acquire nuclear weapons and support its ally. In this sense, the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, reiterated on Monday that the Biden administration considers Iran the main threat to Israel and that it will never be allowed to obtain nuclear weapons.
The tone is set
"If Iran rejects the path of diplomacy, then, as President (Joe) Biden has made clear many times, we are not ruling out any possibility to ensure that Iran does not obtain nuclear weapons," the US secretary of state assured during a speech in Washington to the pro-Israel lobby AIPAC.
Iran must enrich its uranium stockpile to 90%, the threshold necessary to acquire the atomic bomb. According to a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) last March, uranium particles were enriched to more than 80%. In retaliation, the country has suffered several acts of sabotage, including in 2021 at the Natanz uranium enrichment plant.
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Since the termination of the Vienna agreement in 2015 by former US President Donald Trump, Iran has been subject to international economic sanctions, which weigh heavily on its economy. The agreement provided for limiting its nuclear programme to the civilian dimension.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has also called into question the treaties on the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons (NPT). The acquisition of such deterrent firepower is thus perceived by Tehran as essential to consolidate its power in the region.
