As Iran’s Nuclear Stockpile Swells, Biden Urges Allies to Stand Down, Report Details

A bombshell Wall Street Journal report said on Monday that the Biden administration is urging European allies to refrain from rebuking Iran for continuing to pursue its nuclear weapons program. Despite U.S. officials denying the report, a leading national security expert is observing that the WSJ’s claims fit a pattern of the Biden administration taking a hands-off approach with the terrorist-supporting Islamist regime.

The report notes that Britain and France had planned to officially censure Iran at the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) member-state board next month. The concerns stem from a U.N. report that found that the regime’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium rose 20.6 kilograms to reach a total of 142.1 kilograms, marking a record high level. Experts say that quantity of uranium would be enough to arm three nuclear weapons.

On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller stated that the WSJ article was “not true,” adding that the administration is “actively increasing pressure on Iran through a combination of sanctions, deterrence, and international isolation to counter their destabilizing behavior and prevent them from obtaining a nuclear weapon.”

But Lt. Col. (Ret.) Bob Maginnis, a senior fellow for National Security at Family Research Council, remarked during Tuesday’s edition of “Washington Watch” that he had no reason to doubt the veracity of the WSJ report.

“The Wall Street Journal tends to have very good sources, so I would be more inclined to believe them than a public spokesman at the State Department,” he noted. “Keep in mind, diplomacy works a number of ways. Some of it is up front. Most of it, however, is behind the scenes, and we never acknowledge who we spoke to, much less the messages.”

Maginnis went on to contend that the Biden administration’s apparent hesitance to impose consequences on Iran is in keeping with the Democratic Party’s recent history of appeasement.

“[T]here’s a consistent pattern over the years, especially with JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], which was the nuclear deal that the Obama White House put together, and it was a direct compromise that gave the Iranians a great deal of money,” he explained. “And, of course, when Biden came into office, they lifted most of the sanctions that were put in place by President Trump. And as a direct result, it enriched the Iranians to the point that not only were they able to fund Hamas and Hezbollah and other ingrates around the world, but they have poured a lot of money into their military and their Quds forces that are continuing this effort.”

Maginnis further underscored the broader implications of a nuclear-capable Iran.

“[T]here’s a reality that we must face, and that is the Iranians have continued their nuclear program, and their nuclear program is incredibly dangerous,” he emphasized. “We heard almost a decade ago from [Israeli] Prime Minister Netanyahu, who just unveiled a trove of secret documents that they had confiscated from a warehouse outside of Tehran. [I]t demonstrated conclusively that they were on a path to a nuclear weapon. … [The IAEA] hearing [next week] is going to reconsider where they are vis-à-vis Iran and the nuclear program. … [I]t appears as if the Iranians are accelerating their effort, and that should scare us all, primarily because of what happened on the 13th of April this year, when Iran not only used its proxies, but used ballistic missiles fired from its own territory at Israel. And that, of course, has really radically changed the climate in the Middle East.”

Former congressman and “Washington Watch” guest host Jody Hice pointed out that Biden’s latest decision to take pressure off of Iran comes in the wake of the administration’s decision in November to free up more than $10 billion in funds for the Islamist regime that was formerly frozen. “Why does the Biden administration refuse to draw the line on Iran?” Hice wondered.

“[T]hey seem to be compromised to a certain degree,” Maginnis surmised. “The secret meetings they had last month in Oman with the Iranians was to try to get the Iranians to back off on their attacks against Israel using their proxies, and much the same with the Houthis as well as the Iraqi Hezbollah in northern Iraq and Syria. So there’s a lot that’s going on here.”

Maginnis concluded by expressing grave concern about what Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may be capable of.

“[W]e have to acknowledge that the Iranians have kept secret some facilities that the IAEA is trying to get access to, and that’s the whole cusp of what we’re talking about here. And the fact that there has been a 15% increase in the total of 60% enriched uranium in their stockpile [in] the last several months, and that just sends shivers up the spines of those of us that understand that Iran not only has the ballistic missiles, but also has the technology to make a bomb. And so they could, at a very slight decision from the Ayatollah, move forward rapidly to have a bomb that could be used against Israel.”