47s ago
(03:20 GMT)
An important point is to what extent the intelligence services of Israel and the US are on the same page.
Israel continues to trumpet what its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has claimed for literally decades, that Iran is close to achieving nuclear weapons capacity.
Whereas US intelligence has stated repeatedly – the most recent in March this year – that Iran does not have nuclear weapons capability. And, at that stage, say US intelligence sources, it was not planning on achieving that.
The reason for this is the religious edict issued by the country’s supreme leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei], the man who President Trump said in the course of the day, that we know where he is, but we are not, in his words, “going to take him out at this stage”.
So it does appear that the US president is well aware of the importance of the Iranian leader in terms of preventing any process towards establishing a nuclear-weaponised system in Iran.
Which, as I said, US intelligence is adamant they do not have.
(03:20 GMT)
US intelligence ‘stated repeatedly’ Iran does not have nuclear weapons capability
Reporting from Washington, DC, United StatesAn important point is to what extent the intelligence services of Israel and the US are on the same page.
Israel continues to trumpet what its prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has claimed for literally decades, that Iran is close to achieving nuclear weapons capacity.
Whereas US intelligence has stated repeatedly – the most recent in March this year – that Iran does not have nuclear weapons capability. And, at that stage, say US intelligence sources, it was not planning on achieving that.
The reason for this is the religious edict issued by the country’s supreme leader [Ayatollah Ali Khamenei], the man who President Trump said in the course of the day, that we know where he is, but we are not, in his words, “going to take him out at this stage”.
So it does appear that the US president is well aware of the importance of the Iranian leader in terms of preventing any process towards establishing a nuclear-weaponised system in Iran.
Which, as I said, US intelligence is adamant they do not have.