As the peace talks between the US and Iran continues, Tehran has used the ongoing ceasefire as an opportunity to rebuild its defence capabilities. And now a US official has claimed that Iran could restore its pre-war capabilities in as little as six months, according to a report.
The US official quoted by CNN said Tehran has "exceeded timelines the IC [intelligence community] had for reconstitution."
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According to the source, the shortened timeline is partially due to the support provided by Russia and China, reported the outlet.
Beijing is allegedly supplying Tehran with missile components, according to the CNN source. However, the Chinese foreign ministry denied the claim, saying the CNN report is "not based on facts."
This comes a day after Iran’s army spokesperson Mohammad Akraminia said the Iranian military had used the ceasefire as an opportunity to "strengthen its combat capbilities."
On Thursday, Iran Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei said the country's near-weapons-grade uranium should not be sent abroad.
Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Thursday met Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to discuss the peace talks and arrange a deal between the two sides.
US President Donald Trump on Wednesday said Washington was ready for further attacks on Tehran if Iran fails to agree to a peace deal, but also hinted that the US could wait a few days to "get the right answers".
"Believe me, if we don't get the right answers, it goes very quickly. We're all ready to go," he said.
Earlier on Wednesday, he said that the peace talks were in the final stages. "We'll see what happens. Either have a deal or we're going to do some things that are a little bit nasty, but hopefully that won't happen,"