by WorldTribune Staff, June 12, 2025 Real World News
Multiple reports have cited U.S. officials as saying Israel is “fully ready” to carry out a military strike on Iran’s nuclear facilities as Teheran’s military brass confirmed preparations for a large-scale retaliatory attack that could involve hundreds of ballistic missiles targeting Israeli territory.
U.S. President Donald Trump warned that an Israeli strike “could very well happen” and that it might derail efforts to reach a new nuclear agreement with Iran.
Iran’s Isfahan Nuclear Technology Center / Planet Labs PBCThe State Department ordered the evacuations of much of its personnel in the Middle East due to unspecified “heightened security risks,” The New York Times reported.
NBC News reported that sources were unaware of any planned U.S. involvement, and that Israel may act unilaterally against Iran, even though it typically relies on U.S. intelligence and logistical support.
On Wednesday, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commander Hossein Salami warned that Iran would respond to any Israeli action “in a more forceful and destructive way” than in past conflicts. Iran’s state media quoted a senior security official as saying the country is capable of launching “deadly preemptive strikes.”
Meanwhile, U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff is set to meet with Iranian officials on Sunday, which could be the last chance for Teheran to reach an agreement on its nuclear program before the bombs drop.
Geostrategy-Direct.com reported on Tuesday that Iran had expanded its stockpile of enriched uranium before nuclear talks with the United States became serious.
The report noted that, between February and May of this year, Iran increased its enriched uranium stockpile by 50 percent, the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said.
In that time, Teheran increased its stockpile of 60% enriched uranium from 274.8 kilograms to 408.6 kilograms, the IAEA said.
Levels of 90% are considered weapons-grade.
U.S. officials have warned that it would take just two weeks for Iran to convert its stockpile of enriched uranium to reach the 90% threshold needed for a single nuclear weapon, the Geostrategy-Direct.com report said.
Trump on June 6 said Iran will not be allowed to enrich uranium and hinted at possible military strikes following the revelation that Teheran has been secretly building out a near weapons-grade nuclear program for months.
“They won’t be enriching. If they enrich, then we’re going to have to do it the other way,” Trump told reporters aboard Air Force One.
“And I don’t really want to do it the other way but we’re going to have no choice,” he added. “There’s not going to be enrichment.”
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on June 4 had insisted that ending uranium enrichment was “100%” against his country’s interests. He accused the U.S. of being “arrogant” in its proposal for a revamped nuclear deal.
“Who are you to decide whether Iran should have enrichment?” Khamenei said in a televised speech. “If we had 100 nuclear power plants while not having enrichment, they are not usable for us.”
In April, Trump reportedly set a two-month deadline for reaching a deal with Iran. The deadline is set to expire in a week. Trump also floated in March the possibility of joining Israel in bombing Iran if talks broke down.
Trump expressed growing doubt that Iran would agree to limit its nuclear program under a renewed deal. “I did think so, and I’m getting more and more – less confident about it,” Trump said in a podcast interview this week. He added that the region “could be a dangerous place,” reiterating that the United States would not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth authorized departures for military dependents from U.S. bases in the region, with the base in Bahrain housing the majority of those affected, while the State Department authorized evacuations of non-essential staff from the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, according to The Associated Press. The U.S. has a military presence in Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates, in addition to Iraq.
Revive the American Free Press!
Doom and gloom in the Mideast; Iran expanded nuclear stockpile before U.S. talks began added by Editor Two on June 12, 2025
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