President Donald Trump on Thursday wouldn’t say an attack by Israel on Iran was imminent, but warned it “could happen” as the U.S. continues to pressure Tehran on a nuclear deal, but simultaneously prepares evacuations from the Middle East. 

“I don’t want to say imminent, but it looks like it’s something that could very well happen,” Trump said. “Look, it’s very simple, not complicated. Iran can not have a nuclear weapon. 

“Other than that, I want them to be successful,” he continued. “We’ll help them be successful, will trade with them. We’ll do whatever is necessary.”

Trump said ultimately

The IAEA’s 35-nation Board of Governors on Thursday declared Iran is in breach of its non-proliferation obligations for the first time in nearly 20 years.

The board may next take the breach to the UN Security Council, which could then be prompted to enforce severe snapback sanctions on Tehran, which Western security experts have long been urging the UNSC to pursue.

Only three nations on the board objected to the breach declaration, including Russia, China and Burkina Faso, despite years of mounting evidence of man-made highly enriched uranium, and Tehran’s refusal to grant the IAEA full access to all its nuclear facilities, which is a violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPAO). 

Tehran is still bound to the international deal, though the agreement drastically unraveled after the U.S. withdrew from the agreement in 2018 under the first Trump administration after it claimed Iran was already in breach of the terms. 

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, who returned to the Hill today to testify in front of the House Armed Services Committee, told Senators on Wednesday that “There are plenty of indications that [Iran has] been moving their way towards something that would look a lot like a nuclear weapon.”

The secretary’s comments contradict assertions made by the Director of National Intelligence, who said in March that Iran is not building a nuclear weapon.