Bumpy path to The Bomb Final Edition

Estimates of just when Iran might acquire a nuclear weapon range from alarmist views of only a few months to roughly 15 years. American intelligence agencies say it will take five to 10 years for Iran to manufacture the fuel for its first atomic bomb. Most forecasters acknowledge that secret Iranian...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inEdmonton journal
Main Author William J. Broad and David E. Sanger
Format Newspaper Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Edmonton, Alta Postmedia Network Inc 11.03.2006
Subjects
Black markets
Bombs
Engineers
Molybdenum
Nuclear fuels
Uranium
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Summary:Estimates of just when Iran might acquire a nuclear weapon range from alarmist views of only a few months to roughly 15 years. American intelligence agencies say it will take five to 10 years for Iran to manufacture the fuel for its first atomic bomb. Most forecasters acknowledge that secret Iranian advances or black market purchases could produce a technological surprise. A further uncertainty is defining the exact point at which Iran's nuclear program would become an unstoppable threat. While most analysts identify the greatest danger as when Iran can produce nuclear fuel -- the hardest part of the bomb venture, more difficult than designing a warhead -- others, particularly the Israelis, say the tipping point may come earlier, when Tehran has accumulated a critical mass of atomic knowledge. Photo: Reuters / Iranian technicians lift a barrel of yellowcake at the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) in Isfahan, Iran. ; Photo: The Associated Press / Russia is building an $800-million US nuclear power plant for Iran at Bushehr. The Russians insist it is a purely civilian project. ;
ISSN:0839-296X