President Joe Biden's national security council claimed it is "greatly concerned" about the International Atomic Energy Agency report of Iran's increase in production of highly enriched uranium.
But Newsmax national security analyst Fred Fleitz on Monday called that out as not only disingenuous, but also misleading after a secret spring 2023 deal the U.S. cut with Iran.
"What's really urgent to recognize here is that the Biden administration allowed Iran this past spring to enrich uranium to the 60% uranium 235 level, which is a hair below weapons grade," Fleitz said Monday on "Newsline." "It was an enormous concession that had never been conceived of before, and it was in a secret agreement.
"So when we're hearing Iran is enriching more Uranium to the 60% level, the issue is the Biden administration let them enrich at this level and that this enrichment is getting worse."
The Biden administration had hoped to return to the Obama-era Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), decertified by former President Donald Trump's administration. And in its efforts to do so effectively green-lighted Iran to expand its nuclear power ambitions.
But, still, a White House national security council spokesperson attempted to condemn an action it permitted, according to Fleitz.
"Iran's nuclear escalation is all the more concerning at a time when Iran-backed proxies continue their dangerous and destabilizing activities in the region, including the recent deadly drone attack and other attempted attacks in Iraq and Syria and the Houthi attacks against commercial shipping vessels in the Red Sea," the spokesperson said last week.
Fleitz also called out the Biden administration for emboldening Iran's terrorist proxies in the Middle East in Iran's ongoing effort to wage a proxy war on Israel and the U.S.
"I think these threats against American troops in Iraq and Syria and against shipping in the Red Sea is because of a lack of deterrence, a lack of fear or respect for this president, and I think this will get worse in 2024 because our enemies around the world think Biden may be defeated by Donald Trump, and a tough president, a decisive president, could assume office in January," Fleitz said.
"Concerning Iran's nuclear program, this is a complicated issue. Iran is not going to get a nuclear weapon in the next year. It is currently capable of enriching about enough weapons-grade uranium in a gaseous form in a few weeks, but that would take another year to make into a weapon."
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Eric Mack ✉
Eric Mack has been a writer and editor at Newsmax since 2016. He is a 1998 Syracuse University journalism graduate and a New York Press Association award-winning writer.
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