Originally appeared at ZeroHedge
Iran’s Deputy Atomic Energy Organization Director Ali Asghar Zarean made a key, provocative announcement on Saturday, saying the Islamic Republic has now passed the low uranium enrichment threshold for a nuke.
“At the moment, if (Iranian authorities) make the decision, the Atomic Energy Organization, as the executor, will be able to enrich uranium at any percentage,” Ali Asghar Zarean said, according to Reuters.
Specifically he declared the agency had surpassed 1,200 kg. of low level enriched uranium, following early last month Iran’s leaders declaring they consider the program under “no limitations” following the Qassem Soleimani assassination.
Nuclear power plant in Iran. Image source: Tasnim News Agency via Wikimedia Commons
The Saturday announcement also comes nearly two weeks after European signatories to the 2015 nuclear deal – Germany, France and Britain – said they are moving to trigger the JCPOA’s dispute resolution mechanism formally declaring Tehran is in breach, which could bring UN sanctions.
A report in The Jerusalem Post underscores how dire the situation is after this latest threshold has been reached:
If true, the news could substantially accelerate the point at which Israel and the US might need to decide if they will intervene militarily before Iran develops a nuclear weapon.
However, none of this necessarily means Iran has moved to take the final step of weaponizing and delivering the material. Leadership in Tehran has continually emphasized its nuclear program is for peaceful energy purposes.
The 1,200kg would still have to be enriched to 90% weaponized uranium for a weapon. Combined with the challenges of a delivery method, Israeli defense officials say it could take up to a year to develop a nuke if the Iranians were to move on it now, according to The Jerusalem Post.
To compare to pre-2015 nuclear deal levels, Iran had much more uranium yet never enriched it past the 20% level. It remains to be seen whether Iran’s newest announcement is a possible bluff, or an attempt at sowing disinformation to intimidate Washington — still a distinct possibility which awaits IAEA or other international scientific confirmation.
The rest of the bomb is easy. Already made. Just need a core. A pit. Once one has that, it will only take a few hours to assemble it. There is also the hammer design. Its basically like shooting a chuck of metal into the Uranium. So when they tell people about intervening before its too late, its already too late. Uranium is really soft. Melts like lead. Iran is probably using the following strategy to transition to becoming a full nuclear power:
1. Assemble and position dozens of long range missiles in the deep underground tunnels of mountain ranges. These long range missiles will be based on Iran’s space-capable missiles, already tested. 2. Mount the warhead mechanism on each of these missiles. Without the nuclear core. 3. Test the assembly continuously without launch (probably been going on for a decade now) 4. Study and simulate the core requirements using industrial simulation software like comsol. Preparing for inserting the core. 5. If required: cross the enrichment threshold from 20% to 90% 6. Extract the cores using fully automated high speed processing machinery. 7. Deliver the cores into the warheads and test arming. 8. Detonate one or more warheads in and underground test facility. 9. if successful, announce to the world that a successful nuclear weapons test has been achieved and Iran is now nuclear capable. 10. If not, return to point 2 …
good good and hurry up so that the world can see the tail end of the squatters scattering in the world, on their next 5000 year diaspora replete with gruesome and well earned pogroms.
Very good :))))
Yawn, from the headline I thought they were increasing enrichment levels. I’m certain FOX and their cohorts will demand bombing Iran’s civilian infrastructure.
They may demand, but it won’t happen because then the zionazi dump would be history, something that nobody in the U.S. would accept.
Nuclear Iran is a must! Iran has not attacked anyone for several hundreds of years. They deserve it more than US does. And more than israel does. Why should iran not have nukes?
Every nation should have nukes in order to protect themselves from irresponsible yanks.
Go for it Iran, nuclear weapons are your only insurance policy to deter the OUTLAW, psychopath-run, blackmailing, sanctioning, belligerent, rogue empire-in-decline and its zionazi master.
North Korea has shown admirably that the empire-in-decline is powerless against nukes.