President Joe Biden spoke with advisers about planning airstrikes on Iran’s nuclear facilities in the lame duck period before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration, according to a new report. National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan discussed options for preemptive strikes on the Islamic Republic in recent weeks, three sources with knowledge of the meetings told Axios. One of the sources described the meetings as “prudent scenario planning,” and that they were not based on new intelligence. Another source said these were not “active” discussions about military action. The report suggested these were scenarios in case Iran began taking active steps toward quickly developing a nuclear weapon, including enriching uranium up to 90 percent purity. Earlier in December, the chief of the International Atomic Energy Agency told Reuters the nation had begun “dramatically” accelerating its uranium enrichment to almost 60 percent purity. Iran is in a weaker position after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s allied government in Syria, and it is currently unclear how the incoming Trump administration will handle the Middle Eastern adversary.
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