Iranian
flag flies in front of the UN office building, housing IAEA
headquarters, in Vienna, Austria, May 24, 2021. REUTERS/Lisi
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Weakened Iran could pursue nuclear weapon, White House's Sullivan says
Dec
22 (Reuters) - The Biden administration is concerned that a weakened
Iran could build a nuclear weapon, White House National Security Adviser
Jake Sullivan said on Sunday, adding that he was briefing
President-elect Donald Trump's team on the risk.
Iran has suffered setbacks
to its regional influence after Israel's assaults on its allies,
Palestinian Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, followed by the fall of
Iran-aligned Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Israeli strikes
on Iranian facilities, including missile factories and air defenses,
have reduced Tehran's conventional military capabilities, Sullivan told
CNN.
"It's
no wonder there are voices (in Iran) saying, 'Hey, maybe we need to go
for a nuclear weapon right now ... Maybe we have to revisit our nuclear
doctrine'," Sullivan said.
Iran
says its nuclear program is peaceful, but it has expanded uranium
enrichment since Trump, in his 2017-2021 presidential term, pulled out
of a deal between Tehran and world powers that put restrictions on
Iran's nuclear activity in exchange for sanctions relief.
Sullivan said that there was a risk that Iran might abandon its promise not to build nuclear weapons.
"It's
a risk we are trying to be vigilant about now. It's a risk that I'm
personally briefing the incoming team on," Sullivan said, adding that he
had also consulted with U.S. ally Israel.
Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20, could return to his hardline Iran policy by stepping up sanctions on Iran's oil industry.
Sullivan said Trump would have an opportunity to pursue diplomacy with Tehran, given Iran's "weakened state."
"Maybe
he can come around this time, with the situation Iran finds itself in,
and actually deliver a nuclear deal that curbs Iran's nuclear ambitions
for the long term," he said.
Reporting by Simon Lewis; Editing by Mark Porter and Lisa Shumaker