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The official said that in the past, the Israelis had shared information with the United States about their objectives and covert operations before carrying them out, but would not say if they had done so in this case. Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, who was killed on Friday, had long been a target for the Israelis, the official added.
Iran blamed Israel for the attack and said the operation bore the hallmarks of Israel’s foreign intelligence agency, Mossad. While Iran has provided no evidence of Israeli involvement, Israel has neither denied nor claimed responsibility for Fakhrizadeh’s death.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Israel less than two weeks before the attack, as part of a regional trip that included the United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia, all of which he has visited. discussed Iran with his counterparts.
The level of threat to Americans in the region has not increased since the attack, especially as Iran blames Israel for the assassination, the official said. But the United States believes the Iranians have yet to retaliate for the murder of General Qassem Soleimani, the leader of Iran’s elite military force and the country’s second most powerful leader, and that is the domain that the US intelligence community is monitoring right now, the official told me.
The US government expects possible Iranian retaliation around the Jan. 3 anniversary of Soleimani’s strike, but the official explained that Iran’s options are limited as the inauguration of President-elect Joe Biden will have take place approximately two weeks after that date.
An Iranian move to take kinetic action against the United States – especially killing Americans – would make it harder for Biden to lift sanctions on Iran when he takes office in order to revive diplomacy, the official said. . If Iran does nothing, its threats of retaliation would seem in vain at home and by actors in the region, the official said.
During a foreign policy speech last year, Biden said he would join the 2015 Iran nuclear deal if Tehran began to comply with the pact, a move that advisers say will require close work with the allies and an almost immediate start to new negotiations.
After the Trump administration left the pact and launched its maximum pressure campaign, Iran announced that it would no longer limit itself to restrictions in the agreement.
Iran’s parliament on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved the outlines of a bill aimed at countering sanctions on its nuclear program and boosting uranium enrichment, Press TV reported.
The bill outlines a strategic plan of action requiring the country’s Atomic Energy Organization to produce at least 120 kilograms of 20% enriched uranium annually and store it in Iran within two months of adoption of the law.
Two hundred and fifty-one of the 260 Iranian lawmakers present voted “yes” to the outline of the bill.
Once approved, Iran could also ignore other restrictions on its nuclear program imposed by the nuclear deal, which also required international inspectors of its nuclear facilities, the state news agency ICANA reported earlier.
From CNN’s Akanksha Sharma in Hong Kong, Mohammed Tawfeeq in Atlanta and Ramin Mostaghim in Tehran
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