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Foreign Affairs > Iran > Iran Nuclear Weapons
Iran is less than a decade away from weaponizing nuclear material
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Background
A major U.S. intelligence review has projected that Iran is about a decade away from manufacturing the key ingredient for a nuclear weapon, roughly doubling the previous estimate of five years, according to government sources with firsthand knowledge of the new analysis. The carefully hedged assessments, which represent consensus among U.S. intelligence agencies, contrast with forceful public statements by the White House. Administration officials have asserted, but have not offered proof, that Tehran is moving determinedly toward a nuclear arsenal. The new estimate could provide more time for diplomacy with Iran over its nuclear ambitions. President Bush has said that he wants the crisis resolved diplomatically but that ""all options are on the table.""
[Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/01/AR2005080101453.html]
Iran has signed treaties repudiating possession of weapons of mass destruction, including the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The IAEA Board of Governors, in a rare non-consensus decision with 12 abstentions, recalled a previous Iranian ""policy of concealment"" regarding its enrichment program and found that Iran had violated its NPT Safeguards Agreement.
On 31 July 2006, the Security Council passed a resolution demanding Iran suspend its enrichment program. On December 23, 2006, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions against Iran and tightened these sanctions on March 24, 2007. Iran's representative to the UN argued that the sanctions were not aimed at a solution, but at compelling Iran to abandon its rights under the NPT to peaceful nuclear technology. The Non-Aligned Movement has called on both sides to work through the IAEA for a solution. U.S. intelligence has predicted Iran is about a decade away from manufacturing the key ingredients for a nuclear weapon.
On 25 October 2007 the United States declared the Revolutionary Guards a ""proliferator of weapons of mass destruction"", and the Quds Force a ""supporter of terrorism"". Iran responded that ""it is incongruent for a country who itself is a producer of weapons of mass destruction to take such a decision."" Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the IAEA, said he had no evidence Iran was building nuclear weapons and accused U.S. leaders of adding ""fuel to the fire"" with their rhetoric. Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz has called for ElBaradei to be sacked, saying his policies regarding Iran ""endanger world peace"".
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[Washington Post - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/01/AR2005080101453.html]
Iran has signed treaties repudiating possession of weapons of mass destruction, including the Biological Weapons Convention, the Chemical Weapons Convention, and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). The IAEA Board of Governors, in a rare non-consensus decision with 12 abstentions, recalled a previous Iranian ""policy of concealment"" regarding its enrichment program and found that Iran had violated its NPT Safeguards Agreement.
On 31 July 2006, the Security Council passed a resolution demanding Iran suspend its enrichment program. On December 23, 2006, the UN Security Council imposed sanctions against Iran and tightened these sanctions on March 24, 2007. Iran's representative to the UN argued that the sanctions were not aimed at a solution, but at compelling Iran to abandon its rights under the NPT to peaceful nuclear technology. The Non-Aligned Movement has called on both sides to work through the IAEA for a solution. U.S. intelligence has predicted Iran is about a decade away from manufacturing the key ingredients for a nuclear weapon.
On 25 October 2007 the United States declared the Revolutionary Guards a ""proliferator of weapons of mass destruction"", and the Quds Force a ""supporter of terrorism"". Iran responded that ""it is incongruent for a country who itself is a producer of weapons of mass destruction to take such a decision."" Mohamed ElBaradei, director of the IAEA, said he had no evidence Iran was building nuclear weapons and accused U.S. leaders of adding ""fuel to the fire"" with their rhetoric. Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shaul Mofaz has called for ElBaradei to be sacked, saying his policies regarding Iran ""endanger world peace"".
see more on Wikipedia
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