Iran's new Supreme Leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, is significantly more interested in developing the nuclear weapons program than his father and former Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

This is the assessment of US intelligence agencies, as reported by the US news media outlet The New York Times, citing internal sources.

According to the report, officials familiar with the matter stated that an analysis of intelligence data and intercepted communications gathered before the outbreak of war indicates that Mojtaba Khamenei is less hesitant than his father regarding the creation of nuclear weapons.

However, The New York Times noted that this assessment is not based on new information collected after the war began or after Mojtaba Khamenei became Supreme Leader, but rather on previously gathered intelligence.

Per the report, Western intelligence agencies reject Iran's long-standing claim that Tehran has never sought to build nuclear weapons.

Additionally, Israel has accused Iran of taking steps toward nuclear weaponization in recent years, even though Ali Khamenei was believed to have been at least somewhat hesitant on the matter.

The US intelligence assessment further stated that factions within Iran's power structure that favor the creation of nuclear weapons are now in a stronger position. They argue that nuclear weapons are necessary to protect the Islamic Republic from potential future attacks.