To date, Iran has produced nearly 1,000 pounds of low-enriched uranium, said the report — close to what Albright says is the 1,500-pound minimum needed to produce the 45-60 pounds needed for a simple nuclear bomb under optimal conditions.
And with Iran's centrifuges running ever more smoothly, it "is progressing toward this capability and can be expected to reach it in six months to two years," says Albright.
Touching on such fears, the statement by the 27-nation EU said that Iran's defiance of Security Council demands on enrichment is troubling "because it brings us closer to the moment where Iran will have fissile materials for a weapon, if it chose to increase their degree of enrichment."
It also cast serious doubt on Iranian assertions that it never embarked on studies geared toward making nuclear weapons.
While the evidence "remains to be verified, the IAEA's exhaustive and detailed" information, "leads one to think that the Iran has methodically pursued a program aimed at acquiring the nuclear bomb," the statement said.
But our media told us that our National Intelligence Estimate assured us that Iran is not seeking to build nuclear weapons! How can this be?
Well, as was clear at the time, our NIE said no such thing. But opponents of doing something got the NIE spun the report and counted on nobody reading the actual NIE. So now it seems shocking that the EU, of all institutions, says that Iran seeks nukes. Mission accomplished, as the saying goes.
As I said at the time, just read that NIE. Don't trust our press corps to draw conclusions or report accurately about anything they feel deeply about.
