US intelligence assessment says Iran not currently developing nuclear weapons

A US intelligence assessment says Iran is not pursuing nuclear weapons at the moment, but has ramped up activities that could help it develop them.

The assessment from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence says Iran has moved to increase its capacity to produce an atomic bomb since 2020, but has stopped short of that so far.

The findings correspond with previous US assessments about Iran’s nuclear program, although many in Congress and elsewhere have been skeptical of those.

“Iran is not currently undertaking the key nuclear weapons-development activities that would be necessary to produce a testable nuclear device,” according to the two-page unclassified synopsis of the report. However, Iran is also pursuing “research and development activities that would bring it closer to producing the fissile material needed for completing a nuclear device following a decision to do so,” the report says.