Does Iran have nuclear weapons?

“Iran stands ready to use weapons it has not deployed before to respond to possible escalations caused by Israel,” an Iranian official said. Iranian national security spokesman said Israel warns Tehran of retaliation after launching missile attack on Jerusalem.

Although Iran did not reveal more information about this “previously unused weapon”, Nuclear issues have been unresolved in the Middle East since tensions erupted Israel reportedly attacked the Iranian consulate in Syria.

An analysis report by the Foundation for Defense of Democracies (FDD) said: “After this weekend, the threat of deploying nuclear weapons from Iranian territory to Israel is closer to reality.”

Experts say Iran is closer to acquiring a nuclear weapons capability than at any time in the country’s history.

What do we know about Iran’s nuclear program?

Iran has always claimed that it does not have nuclear weapons and denied that it is trying to use its civilian nuclear program to become a nuclear-armed state.

However, Israel has long accused Iran of secretly building a nuclear bomb. In fact, Iranian nuclear facilities have been a key target of Israeli special operations over the past two decades.

Most notably, the 2021 assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh, considered the “father” of Iran’s nuclear weapons program, using a robotic device mounted on an artificial intelligence-powered device Modified machine gun.

While Iran’s nuclear capabilities remain shrouded in mystery, especially after the United States withdrew from the 2015 deal, a report from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) said Tehran is producing highly enriched uranium at a faster rate than before.

Enriched uranium is used as fuel in nuclear power plants and nuclear reactors, and in nuclear weapons.

Under a 2015 deal with world powers and the European Union, Iran agreed to limit its nuclear program in exchange for lifting sanctions. However, these restrictions expired after then-US President Donald Trump withdrew from the agreement in 2018.

While the 2015 deal technically remains in effect and European countries continue to recognize it, an emboldened Iran continues to increase its uranium fuel stockpile.

Natanz, located in Iran’s central Isfahan province, houses the country’s main uranium enrichment facility. Iran has another enrichment plant, Fordow, located deep underground in a factory inside a mountain near the Great Salt Desert.

While both sites are monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency to ensure Iran is not secretly building a nuclear bomb, there are reports that the country has barred inspectors from accessing some sites. Surveillance cameras at some key locations have also reportedly been removed.

Iran’s Uranium Stockpile

In 2023, global nuclear watchdogs warned that Iran already had enough material to build three nuclear bombs.

As things currently stand, Iran has the capability to create a primitive nuclear device in just six months. However, officials who monitor Iran’s nuclear facilities told The Washington Post that building a nuclear warhead that could be delivered by a missile would take at least two years.

This claim is not completely unfounded, as IAEA inspectors found that Iran has enriched uranium particles to 83.7% purity, a significant jump from the 3.67% stipulated in the 2015 agreement.

Uranium enriched to 3% to 5% can be used to power civilian power stations. In order to make a nuclear weapon, uranium must be enriched to 90%. Therefore, this means that Iran can reach the 90% weapons-grade threshold in a short period of time.

International Atomic Energy Agency Director General Rafael Grossi recently said the development was concerning, “You may hear senior Iranian officials say that they have recently acquired all the elements of a nuclear weapon.”

Last year, former US Deputy Secretary of Defense Colin Kahl told Congress that Iran could build a nuclear weapon from its uranium stockpile in just 12 days.

The Washington-based Nuclear Threat Initiative (NTI) said Iran has enough materials to build three nuclear weapons. The Associated Press quoted NTI Vice President Eric Brewer as saying: “It would only take Iran a few weeks to produce weapons-grade material, but it could take much longer – a year or more. “It takes a long time to create a bomb that can actually be carried.”