U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan has attributed the Biden administration’s push for talks with Tehran to the need to “put Iran’s nuclear program in a box.” Iran has added urgency to the White House’s efforts by announcing ever greater nuclear advances in recent months.

But what if Iran is bluffing?

Tehran recently made largely unnoticed but remarkable claims about rapid progress to the brink of nuclear weapons capability, which we detailed in a recent report for the Jewish Institute for National Security of America. While these Iranian claims are certainly concerning, they are likely overstated for tactical effect. Tehran may be using the numbers in an attempt to raise the pressure on the Biden administration—and win sanctions relief in exchange for limiting its nuclear activities.

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Read the rest of the argument at Foreign Policy.