IAEA: Iran Has Enough Fuel To Make Nuclear Bomb
Friday, February 20, 2009 at 7:32AMThe United Nations Nuclear watchdog, IAEA announced through a report yesterday that Iran has enough fuel to make a bomb and show that Iran had amassed about 2,227 pounds of low-enriched, or reactor-grade, nuclear fuel by late January.
Physicists estimate that producing the 55 pounds or so of highly enriched, or weapons-grade, uranium needed for an atomic warhead requires 2,205 to 3,748 pounds of low-enriched uranium.
The announcement seems to come as a surprise even to scientists, diplomats and arms control experts alike, who all thought that it would take Iran until the end of this year to amass the fuel needed to create a weapon.
One expert, David Albright of the Washington-based Institute for Science and International Security, said he was "blindsided" by the report.
"We are surprised," Albright said. "We did not expect this."
By crossing the 2,205-pound threshold, experts say, Iran has improved its "breakout" capacity, the ability to renege on treaty obligations, kick out inspectors and quickly build a bomb.
Albright said, the uranium stockpile signifies "a capability, not a decision." And even if Iran made such a decision, it would face numerous major hurdles to building a bomb.
In reading other reports about this I personally am not surprised, See our other post: Iran To Have Nukes Within Three Months
and: Irans Secret Nuclear Ambitions Not So Secret and also: Cause For Concern? Iran States They Successfully Launched Satellite Into Space.
The last story if true give Iran the capability of not just having a nuclear weapon, but also of being capable of launching an ICBM.
Reader Comments (1)
Why can't we give Iran a live nuke, little red button and all? Mutual destruction is still mutual destruction anyway, isn't it?