ElBaradei: Iran “on Path” to Nuclear Bomb
Muhammed ElBaradei, the leader of the International Atomic Energy Agency of the United Nations, said in an interview published Friday that Iran is one quite some countries “on the path” to developing nuclear weapons.
There is “a whole list of countries that posses the ingredients to assemble an atomic weapon in a matter of a few months, that possess fissile material or the technical means to create it,” he said.
“Iran is also on this path.”
He added that “we live in a world in which atomic weapons promise power and prestige,” explaining that Iran’s desire to possess nuclear weapons is a product of “an underlying feeling of insecurity and the desire to be recognized as a regional power.”
Although Israel says that Iran could develop a nuclear bomb within one year time, the U.S. disagree, saying it would take the Islamic Republic at least two years. Independent expert David Albright, meanwhile, believes both are wrong: Iran can develop a nuclear bomb within six months time, he believes.
At this moment, Iran has produced approximately 1,000 pounds of low-enriched uranium, according to a recently released IAEA report. Albright added that this means that Iran only needs to develop 500 pounds more ‘to produce the 45-60 pounds needed for a simple nuclear bomb under optimal conditions.’
Although there is a lot of posturing in the West about Iran’s nuclear program, very little to nothing is being done to stop Tehran. The main problem is, of course, that there’s little the West can do. The U.S. can drop bombs on Iran’s nuclear facilities, but it is not at all sure whether that will be enough. What is certain, however, is that Iran will then do everything in its power to strike against Western (and allied) targets wherever it can. This means that it will create chaos in Iraq, but also in the Gulf states and, eventually, in the West itself.
