Iran capable of speeding up its nuclear programme

Vienna: Does Iran have enough uranium to make a nuclear weapon? One thing is clear if it doesn't today, it can speed up the process substantially through work that takes little more skill than knowing how to use a plumber's wrench.

The issue has come under renewed scrutiny with the latest International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) report a few days ago on the state of Tehran's uranium enrichment programme, which can create both nuclear fuel and the fissile core of warheads.

It is also bound to figure in next week's deliberations of the IAEA's 35-nation board, which will focus on Iran's defiance of UN Security Council demands that it freeze enrichment and ease fears it seeks to make the bomb.

With the IAEA report issuing the latest figures of nuclear material Iran has processed, attention has turned to whether it could process the 1,010 kilogrammes of low-enriched uranium it is known to have amassed into enough highly enriched uranium to arm one weapon.

Some experts say 1,010 kilogrammes is close enough to the commonly cited minimum requirement of 1,100 kilogrammes, or just over 2,400 pounds, for Tehran to make a realistic attempt at making a bomb.

Others say that for various technical reasons the 1,100 figure is too low, even if Iran took the unlikely step of reconfiguring its enrichment programme to make weapons grade uranium under the nose of IAEA inspectors at the site.

Still others are in-between, saying there are too many unknowns to make a clear prediction.

Lost in the argument is an important fact: should it be looking to make a bomb, Iran has the capacity to easily rev up production of enriched uranium to reach whatever amount it needs much more quickly than it is doing now.

It currently has close to 4,000 machines pumping out the low enriched uranium and has produced enough material to bring it at least close to 1,100 kilogrammes. But in a little noted observation, the IAEA report also said Tehran has 1,600 more centrifuges for enriching uranium gas feedstock on standby.