Iran has moved dangerously close to enriching weapons-grade uranium for a nuclear bomb, but the regime has not yet crossed the critical threshold of declaring it has built an atomic weapon.
Fox News Digital reached out to experts on Iran’s more than two-decade effort to join the small group of countries that have atomic weapons for explanations about what is stopping Tehran from crossing the nuclear threshold.
"If there is reason to believe that there are a number of retardants that have put a pause in their weapons development, they’d relate back to targeted attacks by the U.S. and Israel, who clearly are very much concerned about stopping the mullahs," stated Lisa Daftari, an Iran expert and editor-in-chief of the Foreign Desk.
Daftari added, "Israel has reportedly conducted at least two dozen targeted operations on Iran’s regime in the last 15 or so years, including drone attacks, cyberattacks, if you recall Stuxnet and assassinations of key players in Iran’s nuclear program."
"We cannot underestimate the power of international pressure on Iran’s regime," Daftari told Fox News Digital.
"That pressure has been assuaged under this current administration, who, while stepping away from the nuclear deal, are still hoping to revive some form of normalization agreement with Tehran. Otherwise, when there is consistent and targeted pressure on Iran’s regime in the form of enforced sanctions and economic and political isolation, we see a weakened regime and an emboldened Iranian people who are brave enough to take to the streets," she said.
