House reps introduce: Legislation to thwart Iranian nuclear development

Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Brian Mast (R-FL) announced bipartisan legislation, called the Bunker Buster Act, which authorizes the President to protect Israel with the Massive Ordnance Penetrator (MOP) bomb, capable of taking out Iran’s underground nuclear infrastructure.

The legislation, which was introduced on Tuesday, helps ensure that Iran cannot threaten the US or its allies with a nuclear weapon, Gottheimer and Mast said in a statement, adding that it “is critical to America’s global fight against terrorism”.

The bipartisan Bunker Buster Act will, according to the statement, help ensure Iran can never threaten the US, Israel, or our allies with a nuclear weapon;

Require the US Department of Defense (DOD) to consult with Israel and report to Congress on Israel’s capability to deter a full range of threats, including whether transferring “bunker buster” munitions capable of taking out Iran’s underground nuclear infrastructure would advance both countries’ security; and,

Preserve Israel’s qualitative military edge in the region while reaffirming the credibility of the US military to deter Iran.

“The bipartisan Bunker Busters Act is critical to America’s global fight against terrorism. While Iran and its terrorist proxies continue to wreak havoc and chaos around the world, we must ensure they can never threaten the U.S. or our allies with a nuclear weapon,” said Gottheimer. “Iran and its terrorist proxies hate America even more than they hate Israel. I’m proud to lead this critical legislation with Congressman Brian Mast, which bolsters our national security, along with Israel.”

“We cannot sit silently while the Ayatollah and his minions plot to wipe Israel off the map,” added Mast. “That’s why Congressman Gottheimer and I are working together to pass the Bunker Buster Act. Israel must have the tools necessary to protect its people against Iranian aggression.”

The proposal follows recent reports from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) indicating that Iran has accelerated its uranium enrichment.

A report from late June by the UN atomic energy found that Iran has installed half the advanced uranium-enriching machines it said earlier it would quickly add to its Fordow site but has not yet brought them online.

The IAEA's previous report determined that Iran has started up new cascades of advanced centrifuges and plans to install others in the coming weeks after facing criticism over its nuclear program.

The UN agency released a report at the end of May which found that Iran has further increased its stockpile of uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels.

In mid-July, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Iran is capable of producing fissile material for use in a nuclear weapon within "one or two weeks."

Speaking at the Aspen Security Forum, Blinken said that "what we've seen in the last weeks and months is an Iran that's actually moving forward" with its nuclear program.

The Secretary of State blamed the acceleration of Iran’s nuclear capabilities on former President Donald Trump’s decision in 2018 to withdraw from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.