Iranian leadership signals nuclear push as US‑Israel strikes intensify

U.S. intelligence agencies assess that Mojtaba Hamenei, the son of late Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is more open to advancing Iran's nuclear weapons program than his father was. Ali Khamenei, killed in the opening phase of a U.S.–Israeli air campaign, had opposed nuclear development. American officials say Mojtaba, wounded early in the conflict and now operating with reduced public visibility, still influences state policy and may support the creation of advanced nuclear weapons.

Iran has reportedly moved some centrifuges to a fortified underground complex dubbed “Pickaxe Mountain,” a relocation tracked by Israeli intelligence and viewed by the United States as a step toward restoring uranium enrichment capability. The ongoing bombardments, arrests of protesters and political prisoners, and the continuation of the Islamic Republic’s doctrine of absolute guardianship illustrate the regime’s hard‑line stance amid external pressure.