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New York Post
29-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Explosive new intelligence report reveals Iran's nuclear weapons program still active
A new intelligence report claims Iran is continuing with its active nuclear weapons program, which it says can be used to launch missiles over long distances. The startling intelligence gathering of Austrian officials contradicts the assessment of the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told a Senate Intelligence Committee in March that the American intelligence community 'continues to assess that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has not authorized the nuclear weapons program he suspended in 2003.' Austria's version of the FBI — the Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution — wrote Monday in an intelligence report, 'In order to assert and enforce its regional political power ambitions, the Islamic Republic of Iran is striving for comprehensive rearmament, with nuclear weapons to make the regime immune to attack and to expand and consolidate its dominance in the Middle East and beyond.' The Austrian domestic intelligence agency report added, 'The Iranian nuclear weapons development program is well advanced, and Iran possesses a growing arsenal of ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear warheads over long distances.' According to an intelligence document obtained and reviewed by Fox News Digital, 'Iran has developed sophisticated sanctions-evasion networks, which has benefited Russia.' The Austrian intelligence findings could be an unwanted wrench in President Trump's negotiation process to resolve the atomic crisis with Iran's rulers because the data outlined in the report suggests the regime will not abandon its drive to secure a nuclear weapon. 4 Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei attends a meeting with teachers, in Tehran, Iran, Saturday, May 17, 2025. AP In response to the Austrian intelligence, a White House official told Fox News Digital, 'President Trump is committed to Iran never obtaining a nuclear weapon or the capacity to build one.' The danger of the Islamic Republic of Iran as a state sponsor of terrorism (and its illegal atomic weapons program) was cited 99 times in the 211-page report that covers pressing threats to Austria's democracy. 'Vienna is home to one of the largest embassies of the Islamic Republic of Iran in Europe, which disguises intelligence officers with diplomatic,' the Austrian intelligence report noted. 4 A view of the Bushehr nuclear power plant is seen from the Persian Gulf in the south of Iran, on April 29, 2024. NurPhoto via Getty Images 'Iranian intelligence services are familiar with developing and implementing circumvention strategies for the procurement of military equipment, proliferation-sensitive technologies, and materials for weapons of mass destruction,' the Austrian intelligence agency said. In 2021, a Belgium court convicted Asadollah Asadi, a former Iranian diplomat based in Vienna, for planning to blow up a 2018 opposition meeting of tens of thousands of Iranian dissidents held outside Paris. Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, who served as President Trump's personal lawyer at the time, attended the event in France. When asked about the differences in conclusions between the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence and the Austrian intelligence report, David Albright, a physicist and founder and president of the Institute for Science and International Security in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital, 'The ODNI report is stuck in the past, a remnant of the fallacious unclassified 2007 NIE [National Intelligence Estimate]. 4 Tulsi Gabbard, director of National Intelligence, arriving for the House Intelligence Committee Annual Worldwide Threats Assessment hearing on Wednesday, March 26, 2025 in Washington, DC. Jack Gruber-USA TODAY via Imagn Images 'The Austrian report in general is similar to German and British assessments. Both governments, by the way, made clear to (the) U.S. IC [intelligence community] in 2007 that they thought the U.S. assessment was wrong that the Iranian nuclear weapons program ended in 2003. 'The German assessment is from BND [Germany's Federal Intelligence Service] station chief in D.C. at that time. The British info is from a senior British non-proliferation official I was having dinner with the day the 2007 NIE was made public. The German said the U.S. was misinterpreting data they all possessed.' The Austrian intelligence findings that Tehran is working on an active atomic weapons program 'seems clear enough,' said Albright. 4 Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei waves during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, May 20, 2025. via REUTERS In 2023, Fox News Digital revealed a fresh batch of European intelligence reports showed that Iran sought to bypass U.S. and EU sanctions to secure technology for its nuclear weapons program with a view toward testing an atomic bomb. European intelligence agencies have documented prior to 2015 and after the Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA) was agreed upon that Tehran continued efforts to illegally secure technology for its atomic, biological and chemical weapons of mass destruction programs. The Austrian intelligence report noted that Iran provides weapons to the U.S.-designated terrorist movements Hamas and Hezbollah, as well as to Syrian militias. A spokesperson for ODNI declined to comment. The U.S. State Department and U.S. National Security Council did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital press queries.
Yahoo
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Uranium-sanctions talks with Iran leave U.S. taking gradually ‘harder' stance
(NewsNation) — U.S. and Iranian officials convened for a fifth round of negotiations in Rome as the United States is aiming to stop Iran from enriching uranium in exchange for lifting sanctions. Alireza Jafarzadeh, Deputy Director of the U.S. Office, National Council of Resistance of Iran, says the U.S. position has become firmer in the matter, which is a good thing. 'As we proceed further, I have seen the position of the United States has gradually gotten even harder and more focused on that (sanctions), Jafarzadeh said. 'I hope that will be the path they continue to move forward.' The talks between the two nations, which include President Trump's Special Envoy to the Middle East Steve Witkoff, have provided some but not conclusive progress. Trump has been very clear from the beginning that Iran can't develop nuclear weapons using uranium. Iran says it may take 'special measures' to defend nuclear sites from Israel 'I think what is important is to see what needs to be accomplished because it's not the first time that the Iranian regime has been at the negotiating table,' added Jafarzadeh. In 2002, Iran revealed their uranium enrichment facility site in Natanz, triggering inspections of Iranian sites. Just six years later, the Barack Obama administration and the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action helped legitimize the enrichment program. 'There was a great chance for the world to stop the nuclear weapons program of Iran, which was in the early stages,' Jafarzadeh said. 'But unfortunately, the West rushed to give concessions to the Iranian regime and pursue the policy of appeasement.' South Africa support of Iran also problematic: State Dept. official Despite Iran insisting its program is being used purely for peaceful purposes, Jafarzadeh says they have been developing nuclear weapons. The difference now as opposed to years ago? A weaker regime. 'They have no leverage,' he acknowledged. 'Inside Iran, the people have been rejecting this regime in several rounds of the uprisings. That's the new reality when it comes to negotiations.' Jafarzadeh staunchly disagrees with Iran's portrayal of Trump as a 'madman', while pointing out that the country's prime minister, Abbas Aragchi, is misguided in his views of how much impact the nuclear program has on the power Iran yields. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
