US intel: Iran’s new leader more inclined toward nuclear arms

U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Iran’s new Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei, is more inclined than his predecessor to pursue the development of nuclear weapons, according to a report by The New York Times citing officials familiar with the matter.

Officials said the previous leader — Khamenei’s father, who was killed early in the conflict in an Israeli strike reportedly conducted with U.S. intelligence support — never publicly advocated for Iran to build nuclear weapons. However, current intelligence assessments suggest that Mojtaba Khamenei, alongside a more conservative government now in power, may harbour ambitions to advance such capabilities.

According to the report, Iran has relocated at least part of its uranium enrichment centrifuges from nuclear facilities targeted in U.S. airstrikes in June last year to a newly constructed, heavily fortified underground site in Mount Pickaxe in central Iran. Ground forces have reportedly been deployed around the facility to guard against the possibility of a U.S. ground assault aimed at disabling it.

U.S. officials interpret these moves as evidence that Iran is seeking to preserve its enrichment infrastructure. They add that key elements required for a nuclear weapon — most notably Iran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium — remain intact and available to the authorities in Tehran.

By Tamilla Hasanova