U.S. intelligence reports revealed that a covert team of Iranian scientists is actively exploring methods to rapidly develop a nuclear weapon, The New York Times reported on Tuesday. 

According to the report, current and former U.S. officials said that the secret initiative is focused on helping Iran develop a faster route to an atomic bomb, aiming to convert its uranium stockpile into a functional weapon within months, rather than years. 

This intelligence, gathered during the final months of the Biden administration, was shared with Trump’s national security team during the transition.

The report notes that Tehran is anxious to find new methods to deter potential strikes from Israel or the U.S. after its regional power was weakened by a series of setbacks.

Recently, its proxy forces, including Hezbollah and Hamas, have suffered leadership losses, and Israeli counterstrikes in October reportedly targeted Iran’s missile defenses and nuclear facilities, crippling some of its production capabilities.

The National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI) has revealed intelligence suggesting that Iran is secretly developing nuclear warheads for missiles with a range over 3,000 kilometers, capable of reaching parts of Europe, at two covert sites disguised as satellite launch facilities.

One of the facilities identified by the NCRI is the Shahrud missile complex, managed by Iran’s Organization for Advanced Defense Research and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). 

The report claims that Iran is developing nuclear warheads at this site, which are intended to be fitted on Ghaem-100 missiles capable of reaching as far as Greece. The NCRI also states that Iran has conducted at least three test launches from Shahrud, disguised as satellite launches. 

A second facility, located southeast of Semnan, is reportedly producing Simorgh missiles based on North Korean designs, with portions of the site hidden underground and expanded since 2005.

In a statement on Wednesday, the IRGC-affiliated Telegram channel, Akhbar Sepah Pasdaran, declared: “We don’t have a nuclear bomb, but if we want one, we will build it.” 

The post specifically outlined the regime’s nuclear capabilities, marking each with a check, including 90% uranium enrichment, plutonium production, and explosive mechanism engineering.

The statement comes just hours after President Donald Trump signed an executive order to reinstate the “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran to end its nuclear threat and stop its support for terrorist groups.