Iran: One Step Away From Bomb

Not that it's an insignificant step, but still some not so great news from the IAEA.

Glyn Davies, the chief U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the latest report by the nuclear watchdog shows that Tehran is either very near or already in possession of sufficient low-enriched uranium to produce one nuclear weapon, if the decision were made to further enrich it to weapons-grade.

"This ongoing enrichment activity ... moves Iran closer to a dangerous and destabilizing possible breakout capacity," Davies told the agency's 35-nation board of governors.

 "Taken in connection with Iran's refusal to engage with the IAEA regarding its past nuclear warhead-related work, we have serious concerns that Iran is deliberately attempting, at a minimum, to preserve a nuclear weapons option," Davies said.

The latest agency report describes how Iran now has, at a minimum, 1,430 kilograms (3,153 pounds) of low-enriched uranium hexafluoride, he added.

Comments

[mark l.]

i tend to think that we might be focusing on the wrong assumptions about how and when Iran acquires a nuke.

I imagine that the Quds forces are channeling as much armor piecing tech as possible to Afghanistan, in an effort to curry favor with AQ/taliban.

pakistan is probably crawling with the same guys who were active in Iraq, who are desperately looking into destabilizing pakistan, with the payoff being nuclear tech of an actual number of bombs, if they can put the taliban in power. pakistan is not a member on the non-proliferation group of countries, and would like nothing more than to see an ally, grow in strength due to the (correct)perception that the western world favors india.

let's be honest...
AQ khan is alive and well. The process of developing nukes has already been in use for several decades in the country of pakistan. It would probably be incredibly easy to either skim parts off the top, including enriched uranium, and just assemble it all in Iran.

Iran will more likely be "gifted" a nuclear program, as opposed to developing one. I'd imagine that one of those option is far cheaper and faster, than the other.