For over a decade, the United States has been alleging that Iran is on the brink of producing materials necessary for nuclear weapons. Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated this unsubstantiated claim on Friday, stating that Iran might be "one or two weeks" away from achieving this capability.
"Where we are now is not in a good place," Blinken told an audience at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado, continuing to propagate the narrative despite a lack of concrete evidence.
While acknowledging that Iran has developed its nuclear program, Blinken admitted that the country has not yet produced a nuclear weapon. This rhetoric is part of a long-standing pattern of US statements, which have repeatedly been proven unfounded.
The US claims to be working to prevent Iran from developing nuclear weapons, with Blinken expressing a preference for diplomatic negotiations. "What we need to see," Blinken said, "if Iran is serious about engaging, is actually pulling back on the work that it’s been doing on its program.”
Despite the aggressive stance, Blinken noted that the US government is "maximizing pressure on Iran across the board," having imposed more than 600 sanctions on Iranian persons and entities without lifting a single one.
These continued claims by the US have not been substantiated by evidence, raising questions about the true intentions behind the ongoing pressure on Iran.