Iran Trying To Develop Nuclear Weapon, But Decision Not Made On National Level - Milley

Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon, but the decision to do so was not made on a national level, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said in a congressional testimony on Thursday

WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 17th June, 2021) Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon, but the decision to do so was not made on a national level, Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Mark Milley said in a congressional testimony on Thursday.

Asked whether he agrees that Iran is trying to develop a nuclear weapon, Milley said, "I think yes, but... I don't believe and I haven't seen any evidence that there has been national level decision to do that."

"I am talking about national strategic decision," Milley said, noting that such national strategic plan would have to come from the Supreme Leader of Iran.

In 2015, Iran signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with the P5+1 group of countries comprising the United States, China, France, Russia, Germany and the United Kingdom as well as the European Union. The accord required Iran to scale back its nuclear program and severely downgrade its uranium reserves in exchange for sanctions relief.

In 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA and reintroduced sanctions against Iran, prompting Tehran to largely abandon its obligations under the accord.

Iran passed a law in December of 2020 to increase its uranium enrichment and limit UN inspections of its nuclear sites in response to the killing of nuclear physicist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh.

In April, Iran announced that it had managed to reach 60 percent uranium enrichment, after Tehran notified the IAEA of its plan.