The US military said on Thursday that Iran is capable of producing a nuclear weapon within months and that it has the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East, warning of its ability to destabilize the region.
The chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, Gen. Mark Milley, said Iran could produce a nuclear weapon within months. He stressed that the US military has prepared multiple options in case Iran decides to develop a nuclear weapon.
U.S. Central Command commander Michael Corella said Iran continued to enrich uranium at a much higher level than needed for civilian use.
"Iran currently has the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East with thousands of ballistic missiles," he said, adding that Tehran's possession of a nuclear weapon would change the Middle East forever.
At the same time, the US military expressed concern about the development of relations between Iran and Russia, explaining that Washington is working with regional partners "to counter this."
According to Corella, Iran maintains the largest drone force in the region and "its allies are working to destabilize."
"We stopped five large shipments of Iranian weapons destined for the Houthis in Yemen over a period of three months," he said.
He stressed that Washington's priorities include "deterring Iran, confronting extremist organizations, and strategically competing with China and Russia."