‘Iran 2-5 years away from nuclear weapon’

Thursday, October 2, 2008 at 11:10 am

Iran is two years to five years away from being able to produce a nuclear weapon, the former head of the US weapons-hunting team in Iraq has said. But David Kay said the US should not consider bombing Iranian nuclear facilities unless the weapon was about to be transferred to a terrorist group.

Kay, who led the Iraq Survey Group from 2003 until early 2004, said the US should line up international support to pressure Iran to give up on a nuclear weapon, while also preparing for the strong possibility that effort will fail.

Preparations could include offering security guarantees to Iran’s neighbors and shoring up Middle East stability and economic growth.

Iran is 80 per cent of the way to a nuclear weapon, Kay estimates, but the last 20 per cent of development is the most difficult. He noted that Iran has worked on the programme for 20 years without successfully producing a weapon.

“You’ve got a clear record of country that is damned determined at some point to develop nuclear weapons,” Kay said in a talk at the Nixon Center. “The real question to ask is, ‘What are the political strategies we can follow now that can lessen the impact?’” of a nuclear Iran.

Iran denies it is seeking a weapon or hiding a bomb programme behind its known drive to perfect nuclear technology that could be used to produce electricity. Estimates of Iran’s progress vary.

Western intelligence agencies generally agree that if Iran chose to, it could field a nuclear device within a few years. Iran has accelerated its uranium enrichment programme this year.

(Agencies)

( This post is from an independent writer. The opinions and views expressed herein are those of the author and are not endorsed by APakistanNews.Com.)

‘Iran 2-5 years away from nuclear weapon’

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