The U.S. suspects Iran of pursuing a rapid nuclear weapons production cycle.

If Iran decides to politically pursue the development of nuclear weapons right now, its stockpile of uranium would be sufficient for four to five explosive devices, the newspaper reports. Tehran could enrich uranium to weapon-grade levels within a few days. However, producing a warhead that could be mounted on a nuclear missile would take between one to two years, according to assessments from American and Israeli officials cited by the NYT.

A secret group of scientists is exploring ways to reduce the production timeline to just a few months. A bomb produced through a rapid cycle would not be as modern or sophisticated and could not be mounted on missiles. However, it would allow the country to conduct nuclear tests and assert itself as a nuclear power, the newspaper states.

According to its information, Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will discuss this during their meeting on Tuesday.

The newspaper notes that Netanyahu has been "close" for years to deciding to order the military to attack Iran's nuclear facilities but has retreated under pressure from the military, intelligence, and the United States. Currently, American and Israeli officials believe that Iran is in the most vulnerable position since the inception of the Ayatollah regime.

• Tehran denies the existence of a nuclear program. The NYT publication mentions that civilian authorities may not even be aware of it, as they do not control the military and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.