Iran Has Know-How to Make the Bomb: U.N.
No "concrete proof" of nukes
Updated 1:00 AM CDT, Fri, Sep 18, 2009
Iran could probably make a nuclear bomb if it wanted to and trigger a nuclear blast from a container, cargo ship or the back of a truck, experts at the United Nation’s nuclear monitoring agency believe.
Findings from a secret U.N. document titled “Possible Military Dimension of Iran's Nuclear Program,” are much scarier than what IAEA experts have published for the public but in line with what the U.S. and some allies already believe, The Associated Press reported.
In the document, described as a long-running update of Iran’s nuclear program, experts cite “information from a variety of sources” to infer certain nuclear design and technical breakthroughs. "The agency ... assesses that Iran has sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable implosion nuclear device (an atomic bomb) based on HEU (highly enriched uranium) as the fission fuel," according to an excerpt.
The document also refers to a 1984 meeting where Iran’s Ayatollah Ali Khamenei talked about how having nukes would deter the country's then-adversary, Iraq. Still, U.N. experts admit they have “no concrete proof that there is or has been a nuclear weapon program in Iran.”
Iran is set to join the U.S. and other members of the U.N. Security Council at the negotiation table for the first time in a year on Oct. 1. The Obama administration hopes the talks will lead to progress on ending Iranian support for militants that fight Israel, help with Afghanistan and on getting the regime in Tehran to stop enriching uranium, according to reports.
Get more: AP
First Published: Sep 18, 2009 12:50 AM CDT
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