VIENNA/WASHINGTON - The central achievement of the Iran nuclear deal - keeping Tehran at arm’s length from nuclear weapons - is eroding.The 2015 accord’s many restrictions on Iran’s atomic activities were built around one objective: to extend the “breakout time” Tehran would need to produce enough fissile material for one atomic bomb - if it decided to do so - to at least a year from around 2-3 months.
Those breaches have shortened the breakout time slightly, though Iran is far from sprinting ahead as fast as it could, reports by the U.N. nuclear watchdog policing the deal show. * Enrichment level - The deal caps the fissile purity to which Iran can refine uranium to at 3.67%, far below the 20% it was achieving before the deal and the 90% that is weapons-grade. Iran breached that cap on July 8. Since then, however, its enrichment level has remained steady at up to 4.5%.
The breaches have eaten into the breakout time slightly, but estimates of the current breakout time vary. Many diplomats and nuclear experts also believe the starting point of one year is a conservative estimate. David Albright, a former U.N. weapons inspector and a hawk on Iran, said Tehran could within five to 10 months amass 900 kg of uranium enriched to 4.5% at its current rate. That amount, if further refined, could yield the 25 kg of weapons-grade, highly enriched uranium needed for one nuclear bomb.Even if Iran had accumulated sufficient fissile material, it would need to assemble a bomb, probably one small enough to be carried by its ballistic missiles.
That depends. How many secret research cities were known when you wrote this piece?
2 close.
They’re closer now thanks to a Trump presidency.
If only there was only a deal signed by 6 counties that Iran could follow to not develop a nuke that would be ideal. Oh wait, there was. I wonder what lunatic screwed that up.
I would have to say Iran is 150 BILLION times closer to producing a nuclear bomb than they were before the Iran Nuclear Deal negotiated by Obama and John Kerry... That deal was the most blatantly traitorous deal ever negotiated between two nations in all of human history.
Closer than when Trump took office.
“Explainer” Is this goodspeak for “opinion”
According to the neocons they’ve been 3 months away for 25 straight years
The question to ask is how close are they to producing a nuke that can be carried on one of their tactical missiles. Once they have that, the entire region will be at peril and they will have achieved parity with North Korea. ie Stalemate.
Making nuclear bombs is easy and any willing country can do it.
We might know if Trump hadn't torn up the nuke deal
Hopefully close enough to put a much needed shock collar on Israel and US.
Manhattan scientists provided the USSR, through the agents, with technological information needed the production of the atomic bomb. The balance has been maintained. Middle East needs the same.
Let's nuke them before they can nuke us
The coyote off roadrunner probably has more chance of succeeding
THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO PROOF THAT IRAN IS BUILDING ATOMIC BOMB‼️‼️USA HAS 3000 OF THEM AND ISRAEL HAS 295 ‼️‼️‼️
better question is how much further would they be if Trump didn't unilaterally leave the deal
Much closer with the imbecile in chief realDonaldTrump
They may obtain a bomb but the penalty for using it against Americans would be swift and summary. Extinction of all Iranians. A very useful deterrent not unlike MAD between America and Russia.
Closer now than 2016
Ahem....attempting to build a nuclear bomb, the President has spoken on this already. It's never going to happen.
Your silly to think they don’t have one already
People around the world should be more concerned with this idea, as Iran WILL NOT HOLD BACK. Get them into the WRONG HANDS & that’s it. But we do have BarackObama to thank for all of this.
The only important sentence in the story is the last one.
Very.
By the time a drone has hit it I would say a long long way off.
Not close
Here we go again. WMD II
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