Iran could have enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb within three years, perhaps even next year, according to intelligence reports, U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday.
Iran
could
have enough enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb within three years, perhaps
even next year, according to intelligence reports, U.S. Defense Secretary
Robert Gates said Friday.
"Intelligence estimates range from one to three years," he told the
press after a meeting with his North Atlantic Treaty Organization counterparts.
However, he stressed that these projections were only for the production of
weapons grade uranium, and not its weaponisation or the development of a
delivery system.
Gates added that the
U.S.
remained in close consultation with
Israel
on
the fresh set of sanctions imposed on
Iran
by
the U.N. Security Council.
In keeping with the
U.S.
doctrine of not excluding any initiative to tackle
Iran
's
nuclear ambitions, he mentioned the risk that
Iran
"could face military action from
Israel
or
somewhere else," should it pursue nuclear arms.
Tehran
maintains its uranium enrichment programme is for
peaceful civilian purposes, while Western nations have charged that
Iran
is
covertly seeking to develop nuclear weapons.
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