Avi Mayer: ‘I think it is certainly possible that they’re going to fast-track a path to some kind of crude nuclear weapon’
The world should take seriously the possibility that Iran is fast-tracking the development of a crude nuclear weapon, which could give the regime leverage against the West, said Avi Mayer, former editor-in-chief of The Jerusalem Post and a regular Middle East analyst.
Mayer told the ILTV News Podcast, “I don’t know that Iran has ever felt as cornered as it does now. Its proxy army has been decimated. Almost all of its proxies have been smashed to smithereens. It still has the Houthis, but they are relatively weak compared to the others. So, I wouldn’t put it past them to say we need leverage, we need a strategic advantage, and that can only come in the form of a nuclear weapon.”
His remarks came on the same day a report emerged indicating that U.S. officials believe Iran is accelerating its nuclear program, aiming to develop a weapon “faster,” albeit in a “cruder” form.
“I don’t take those reports lightly,” Mayer said. “I think it is certainly possible that they’re going to fast-track a path to some kind of crude nuclear weapon to be able to say, ‘We are still a player to be reckoned with, and you have to take us seriously.’”
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Launching a rocket from a launch plane during a military exercise by the Revolutionary Guards in the Gulf and southern Iran
(Photo: SEPAH NEWS / AFP)
While some analysts argue that the Iranian regime is more rational than it appears and that its threats are merely rhetorical, Mayer warned against underestimating the seriousness of Tehran’s ambitions.
“Whether or not they intend to use it, I have to assume that they will,” he said. “We have to prevent them from reaching that capability.”
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Rising Antisemitism in the U.S.
During the same discussion, Mayer also addressed the alarming rise in antisemitism, particularly in the United States. He noted that antisemitism surged during the first term of former U.S. President Donald Trump and has continued to escalate, particularly since the start of the October 7 war.
“Antisemitism tends to manifest itself at times of great polarization and, agree with him or disagree with him, that was one of the markings of President Trump’s first term,” Mayer observed. “It was a very polarizing period in American history, and I don’t think that that is going to change in this term.”
He added that antisemitic sentiments, which may have previously existed under the surface, have been emboldened in recent years.
“It has been given sort of a free rein,” he said. “Now, with a 16-month war raging on seven fronts, many antisemites have used Israel’s response to October 7 and the war itself as a pretext to let their hate be more publicly known.”
One of the most dangerous developments, Mayer stressed, is the growing politicization of antisemitism in the U.S.
“The worst thing that can happen in the fight against antisemitism is that it becomes a political issue,” he said. “I think it should supersede politics. To the extent that Democrats, Republicans, and independents can come together to fight this scourge—not just in one another’s camps but in their own—that is absolutely critical.”
Mayer expressed concern that both major political parties have failed to sufficiently address the issue within their ranks.
“I think we haven’t seen enough of that,” he continued. “It’s very easy for Democrats to point at the Republican Party and say, ‘You have an antisemitism problem,’ and for Republicans to do the same to Democrats. I don’t see nearly enough Republicans fighting antisemitism on their side of the political map, and I don’t see nearly enough Democrats doing the same.”