Iran Said to Have Enough Nuclear Fuel for One Weapon

Iran has now produced roughly enough nuclear material to make, with added purification, a single atom bomb, according to nuclear experts analyzing the latest report from global atomic inspectors.

The figures detailing Iran’s progress were contained in a routine update on Wednesday from the International Atomic Energy Agency, which has been conducting inspections of the country’s main nuclear plant at Natanz. The report concluded that as of early this month, Iran had made 630 kilograms, or about 1,390 pounds, of low-enriched uranium.

Several experts said that was enough for a bomb, but they cautioned that the milestone was mostly symbolic, because Iran would have to take additional steps. Not only would it have to breach its international agreements and kick out the inspectors, but it would also have to further purify the fuel and put it into a warhead design — a technical advance that Western experts are unsure Iran has yet achieved.

“They clearly have enough material for a bomb,” said Richard L. Garwin, a top nuclear physicist who helped invent the hydrogen bomb and has advised Washington for decades. “They know how to do the enrichment. Whether they know how to design a bomb, well, that’s another matter.”

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Intel Shows Iran Fitting Missiles With Nuclear-capable Warheads

Intelligence obtained by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reveals that Iran has been modifying its Shihab-3 ballistic missiles to carry nuclear warheads.

IAEA agents presented the intelligence on Tuesday after Iran rejected their requests to formally examine its ballistic missile program alongside an ongoing investigation into the intents of its nuclear program. Read more

Israeli Threat To Strike Iran Real, Warns Sarkozy

President Nicolas Sarkozy yesterday explicitly warned that Israel would bomb the Islamic Republic of Iran if it continued to enrich uranium.

“Iran is taking a major risk by continuing the process of obtaining nuclear weapons, which is a certainty for us,” Mr Sarkozy said. “Whatever government is in power in Israel, we may wake up one morning and find that Israel has struck. Read more

Nigerian Kidnappers Demand $12 Million Ransom for Israeli

Nigerian gunmen are demanding $12 million for the release of an Israeli businessman kidnapped in the Niger River Delta city of Port Harcourt.

Four gunman abducted Ehud Avni at his home late Tuesday.

The main militant group in Nigeria’s Niger Delta region says it has located Avni. Earlier this week, it rescinded its offer to help rescue him after an Israel news service described the Movement for Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) terrorist group.

MEND has said it was not involved in the Israeli man’s kidnapping.

More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in the oil-producing region since 2006. Most have been released unharmed after payment of a ransom.

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