Iran can produce enough fissile material to build a nuclear weapon “in about 12 days,” a senior US Pentagon official said Tuesday, compared to the full year it was estimated to take in 2015, when the international nuclear deal was signed. program of the Islamic Republic.

This assessment was made by Under Secretary of Defense for Policy Colin Kall during a House hearing when a Republican congressman pressed him to explain why President Joe Biden’s administration made efforts to bring the agreement back into force, officially the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. (SVPD).

“Because the progress made in Iran’s nuclear power program since we withdrew from the JCPOA has been significant. In 2018, when the previous administration decided to withdraw from the JCPOA, it took Iran about 12 months to produce enough fissile material to build a (nuclear) bomb. Now it will take about 12 days,” replied Mr. Kahl, a third person in the defense ministry.

“And that’s why I think there’s still a perception that if we could resolve this issue through diplomacy and bring back restrictions on the (Iranian) nuclear power program, that would be better than other options. But now KOSD is on the ice,” added Colin Kahl.

US officials have repeatedly stated that what they call the breakthrough time, or in other words, the period of time it would take the Iranians to produce enough fissile material to build a nuclear weapon, if they did, was “weeks.” however, this is the first time such a specific assessment has been made.

However, while US officials note that Tehran is much closer to being able to produce fissile material, they add that they do not believe it has the technology to actually build a nuclear weapon.

The 2015 deal was aimed at preventing Iran from developing nuclear weapons, providing for a severe restriction and international control of its nuclear energy activities in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions. But the sanctions were reintroduced and extended by the United States after that country’s unilateral withdrawal from the agreement in 2018 by then-Republican President Donald Trump. Tehran, which has repeatedly stressed that the deal has no value to it without the lifting of sanctions, has since retaliated by backtracking on its commitments.

The administration of his successor, Democrat Joe Biden, has been working to get all parties back into full compliance with the deal for the past two years, but talks have stalled since last year.

Source: RES-IPE