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MIKE MULLEN: IRAN STOCKPILED ENOUGH NUCLEAR FUEL TO MAKE A BOMB
PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2009 13:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "We think they do, quite frankly," Mullen said
on CNN's "State of the Union" program when asked whether Iran has
enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. "And Iran having nuclear
weapons, I've believed for a long time, is a very very bad outcome -
for the region and for the world," Mullen said.
A watchdog report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency two
weeks ago said Iran had built up a stockpile of nuclear fuel, raising
alarm among Western governments that Tehran might have understated
by one third how much uranium it has enriched, Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Iran is not close
to a stockpile of weapons-grade uranium. "They're not close to a
weapon at this point. And so, there is some time," he said.
The United States suspects Iran of trying to use its nuclear program
to build an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists it is purely for the
peaceful generation of electricity. Enriched uranium can be used to
make nuclear weapons.
U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, which favors diplomatic
engagement with Tehran to defuse the dispute over its nuclear
intentions, called Iran's nuclear program an "urgent problem" the
international community must address.
The IAEA report showed a significant increase in Iran's reported
stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU) since November to 1,010 kg -
enough, some physicists say, for possible conversion into high-enriched
uranium for one bomb.
The IAEA later said Iran was cooperating well with U.N. nuclear
inspectors to help ensure it does not again understate the amount of
uranium it has enriched, suggesting the uranium accounting shortfall
might not have been deliberate evasion.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
PanARMENIAN.Net
02.03.2009 13:26 GMT+04:00
/PanARMENIAN.Net/ "We think they do, quite frankly," Mullen said
on CNN's "State of the Union" program when asked whether Iran has
enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon. "And Iran having nuclear
weapons, I've believed for a long time, is a very very bad outcome -
for the region and for the world," Mullen said.
A watchdog report issued by the International Atomic Energy Agency two
weeks ago said Iran had built up a stockpile of nuclear fuel, raising
alarm among Western governments that Tehran might have understated
by one third how much uranium it has enriched, Reuters reports.
Meanwhile, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Iran is not close
to a stockpile of weapons-grade uranium. "They're not close to a
weapon at this point. And so, there is some time," he said.
The United States suspects Iran of trying to use its nuclear program
to build an atomic bomb, but Tehran insists it is purely for the
peaceful generation of electricity. Enriched uranium can be used to
make nuclear weapons.
U.S. President Barack Obama's administration, which favors diplomatic
engagement with Tehran to defuse the dispute over its nuclear
intentions, called Iran's nuclear program an "urgent problem" the
international community must address.
The IAEA report showed a significant increase in Iran's reported
stockpile of low-enriched uranium (LEU) since November to 1,010 kg -
enough, some physicists say, for possible conversion into high-enriched
uranium for one bomb.
The IAEA later said Iran was cooperating well with U.N. nuclear
inspectors to help ensure it does not again understate the amount of
uranium it has enriched, suggesting the uranium accounting shortfall
might not have been deliberate evasion.
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress