Western fears grow that Iran is close to developing nuclear bombs
Rafael Mariano Grossi of the International Atomic Energy Agency, a UN nuclear watchdog, has warned that Iran has enough highly enriched uranium to build several nuclear weapons if it so decides, while diplomatic efforts to curb its nuclear program are off the table more than ever, given that Tehran is supplying Russia with weapons in its war against Ukraine, in addition to the strong unrest rocking Iran at the moment, according to the Associated Press.
Increasing uranium enrichment rate
The agency added in its analysis that despite previous tensions between the West and Iran under the hard-line President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, before the nuclear agreement in 2015, Tehran did not enrich uranium as much as it currently does, as nuclear non-proliferation experts suggested, over months, that Iran should have enough uranium enriched to 60% to make at least one nuclear weapon, despite Tehran has long insisted that its program is for peaceful purposes only.
He urged the world to be wary of Iran’s nuclear program: “We have to be very careful,” revealing the growing size of Tehran’s stockpile of highly enriched uranium. “One thing is true: They have amassed enough nuclear material for many nuclear weapons, not just one weapon at this point,” he said.
And Grossi added, “It was a long time ago. The Iranians have 70 kilograms (155 lbs) of uranium enriched to 60%, and the amount is there.. This does not mean that they have nuclear weapons.. They have not reached this stage yet”.
Tehran revises Pyongyang Scenario
Analysts refer to the Associated Press, referring to what happened with North Korea, which had reached an agreement in 1994 with the United States to abandon its nuclear weapons program, but the agreement collapsed in 2002.H. In 2005, Pyongyang announced that it was able to make nuclear weapons, out of fear of Washington’s intentions following its invasion of Iraq in 2003, and today, North Korea has ballistic missiles designed to carry nuclear warheads capable of reaching the United States.
Grossi revealed his intention to head to Iran next month for “urgent” talks to force Tehran to resume cooperation on its nuclear activities.
Iran ignores Grossi accusations
Iranian authorities have not commented on Grossi’s remarks, but Iranian television quoted Mohammad Eslami, the head of Iran’s civil nuclear program, as saying Thursday that Tehran welcomes Grossi’s visit.
Resume Nuclear Talks
On resuming talks, Ned Price, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of State and other officials in President Joe Biden’s administration, said that any future talks with Iran are still off the table, as Tehran cracks down on months-long internal protests over the death of Mahsa Amini, a young woman detained in September by the country’s morality police. At least 527 people have been killed and 20,000 arrested amid the ongoing unrest, according to Iran’s Human Rights Activists Agency (Hrana), which monitors the protests.
Western anger at Tehran’s arming of Moscow
Part of U.S. and European anger toward Iran has been Tehran’s provision of drones to Moscow, which have repeatedly targeted power stations and civilian targets across Ukraine, the agency said.
