The clock is ticking even faster than the U.S. has previously acknowledged, but will Western governments pick up the pace any more in attempting to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran from becoming a reality? "Exclusive: Iran Nuclear Bomb Could Be Possible by 2009" by Brian Ross and Christopher Isham for ABC News:
Iran has more than tripled its ability to produce enriched uranium in the last three months, adding some 1,000 centrifuges which are used to separate radioactive particles from the raw material.
The development means Iran could have enough material for a nuclear bomb by 2009, sources familiar with the dramatic upgrade tell ABC News.
The sources say the unexpected expansion is taking place at Iran's nuclear enrichment plant outside the city of Natanz, in a hardened facility 70 feet underground.
A spokesperson for the United Nation's International Atomic Energy Agency, the IAEA, declined to comment citing the "extreme sensitivity" of the situation with Iran.
Iran has already declared its above-ground operations at Natanz have some 320 centrifuges.
The addition of 1,000 new centrifuges, which are not yet operational, means Iran is expanding its enrichment program at a pace much faster than U.S. intelligence experts had predicted.
"If they continue at this pace, and they get the centrifuges to work and actually enrich uranium on a distinct basis," said David Albright of the Institute for Science and International Security, "then you're looking at them having, potentially having enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon in 2009."
Previous predictions by U.S. intelligence had cited 2015 as the earliest date Iran could develop a weapon.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has publicly predicted his country would have 3,000 centrifuges installed by this May, but few in the West gave his claim much credence, until now.
"I think we have all been caught off guard. Ahmadinejad said they would have these 3,000 installed by the end of May, and it appears they may actually do it," Albright said.
The new centrifuges are in open defiance of the U.N. Security Council which last week imposed a new set of sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt enrichment.
Iran maintains its enrichment facilities are only meant to produce fuel for nuclear power reactors.
But the uranium they are enriching could not be used in the Russian nuclear power reactor they are currently building.
they could have them next month if they are lucky enough to start a war with israel.
Look at it this way, at least the Iranians wont be bombed like the , what do you the unintelligent Bush americans call, oh yea 'eye-rakiss' looooool The average american IQ is below that of the donkey
Wow, the pot is calling the kettle black!
2009? They already have nukes.
abdullah!
LOL!!!
your humour is very funny! one of my work colleagues actually went ot morocco and took a photo of an old mans donkey! she said the old man and his friends covered her in spit for taking a photo of his donkey. maybe you muslims marry your donkey? you obviously treat them better than your women.
And you're wrong, again, of course, Abdullard. Iran is absolutely going to get bombed. But I gotta give you one point. Most of the "donkey" Americans are extremely stupid. Their voting in Ellison, Kennedy, Sharpton, Polosi, etc., etc. pretty much proves it.
Iran, just like North Korea, will aquire nukes. There is no question about it.
There is NO political will in the West to do anything about it. Just like there is no will to do anything about the other mortal perils that threaten the West.
As various experts have correctly pointed out, we cannot wait for the day when Iran actually has a nuke; they will have mastered the full technological cycle -- fuel, arming, delivery -- long before that day arrives and once mastered, will be able to build an arsenal of deliverable bombs any time they choose. Also, as their nuclear plants come online, a direct hit by an allied air strike will produce a massive and lethal release of radiation into the atmosphere.
Iranian nuclear facilities must be taken out NOW. Unless Russian intelligence is correct is their 6 April forecast, Israel cannot afford to wait for GWB to persuade Nancy Pelosi it is time to act.
Any nation that would choose Bush as their leader must be completely void of even an ounce of brain.
Just before the 'eye-rakiss' LOL war, 7/10 americans though 'eye-rack' was next to CUBA..LOL Wallah that is so hilarious
Do you have anything worthwhile to contribute anymore, Abdullah, or are you reduced to ad hominem attacks on Americans?
"Do you have anything worthwhile to contribute anymore, Abdullah, or are you reduced to ad hominem attacks on Americans?"
You know the answer to that question. Why create anything when you can just be a drain on society? There is a reason why French socialism has attracted more than its fair share of Muslims.
What the Koran describes is the world's first pyramid scheme----declare yourself "superior" and then demand that others fulfill your needs. Abdullah is bored waiting around for people to start giving him things because it is Allah's will.
What Muhammed never thought of was that if he succeeded, and everyone left alive was a Muslim---who would do the work? Talk about the end of technological society . . .
Sobieski - BRILLIANT!! I talked of islam as a pyrmaid scheme just today to a friend of mine on the phone!!
And pyramid schemes are illegal in the US aren't they?
I smell a R.I.C.O.
Look at it this way, at least the Iranians wont be bombed like the , what do you the unintelligent Bush americans call, oh yea 'eye-rakiss' looooool The average american IQ is below that of the donkey
Posted by: Abdullah
Which is still better than the IQ of a cock roach. Which is where you come in. Under the feet of a cockroach.
Americans aren't as dumb as they are greedy.. the greedy ones always manage to get in power and then they are susceptible to corruption.
And oh YES, Eye-RAN will be beombed, if not by us then by Israel. which do you prefer, punk?
“History teaches that war begins when governments believe the price of aggression is cheap”
- Ronald Reagan
Oh by the way, Abby's ad hominems are right out of the MoFoe argumentation flow chart. Someone in Germany actually went through the trouble to make on up in Photoshop. I posted the link on another thread.
coming next: insults
and then: death threats
I am not prophet but I know mo than mo.
Abby, this one's just for you:
This is your brain (0)
This is your brain on islam (.)
No way! They are off by a year.
It will be the next year 2010!
Just like the movie...
2010: The Year We Make Contact! The monolith looks a little like the black box the muslims go around.
I'm no politician, but I wish somebody would give Iran a little headstart on 'aquiring' a nuke.
If you know what I mean.
Ahmedinejad and his handlers are gifts to the West. Our leaders will continue to roll over until they are forced to do something.
If an Iranian Kilo class submarine were to torpedo one of our ships in the Straits of Hormuz tomorrow, claiming territorial waters were violated, would we declare war? I doubt it. We’d probably send the State Department and a blue-ribbon fact-finding panel with survey gear.
Lighting off a few 15 kiloton nuclear bombs would modify the rules of engagement. At least I hope so. Hiroshima was thriving in the 1950s.
From the article
Isn't the "extreme sensitivity" of the situation the very reason they should be loudly and clearly telling us what the situation is? "Shhhh. Don't tell the infidels, but Iran is currently enriching more uranium than predicted. Let's not tell anyone." Isn't the job of the UN's IAEA to help stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and to protect mankind from their use? Or, does Mohamed ElBaradei's IAEA have some other goal, some other agenda?
MoHAMmed with a nuclear bomb in his turban. @=(((:~{>
Off Topic but worth it alert.
I just found this most excellent site for Mocons or Frowneys.
http://hodja.wordpress.com/2006/02/22/muhammed-smiley/
Have FUN!!!
I think that Israel is the only country which has the will to do anything about this.
They need to do something about this situation, and NOW!
they could have them next month if they are lucky enough to start a war with israel.
Posted by: leonthepigfarmer
Leon that was priceless. I read it several times and didn't get it! Stupid me. Shot some goals on my way home then had a pint - reading Jwatch and Bingo!
That's why they want to take away our beer - to make us stupid like them.
Ever notice how they're always trying to kill us by using our inventions?
They may actually have invented knives since they're so damn fond of those.
moslems - let me enlighten you to something:
WE are Mozart - God's Golden Boy!
You on the other hand - you are Salieri. Forever seething with envy and rage.
What will you do when the few sane people left alive find a way to split this joint? You know a kinda Space Noah's Ark sort of thang?
Damn you'll be PISSED won;t you - that some of us got away from you!! i only hope we can save our most precious monuments and our art from you hordes.
WE on Jwatch know what your kind hath wrung all over theworld. Starting with the Library of Alexandria.
Baalah ackbar.
2009? They already have nukes.
Posted by: champ
I disagree. the day they get them you will KNOW. They'll either blow something up or they'll have endless parades. They really ARE like the Nazis aren't they? Parades and Roman salutes and a lot of hot air in general.
Mohammed on a *really* bad turban day )8(:~{>
Muhammad sees a Danish cartoonist !((((8~{o>
Muhammad turns Christian (((+:~{>
Muhammad imitates Charles Manson ((((x8~{>
Have I missed something here or am I stupid we all seem to be worrying doing our calculations about when they can make the bomb, shouldn't we be worrying about how and if they can attain a bomb. I would be more worried about North Korea and especially Pakistan selling them one. I am more worried about the formula M2 +Pak = B where M stands for lots of money and Pak stands for Pakistan and B stands for Bomb, than about how many extra centrifuges will be working in May. I am not saying that we shouldn't worry, but this sort of intelligence is usually no more than guessometrics. America was out by quiet a few years in its estimation of when Russia would get their bomb, I think somewhere in the region of 3 years. America should act on the assumption that they have already got the bomb and act accordingly. This they seem to be doing, I understand that occupancy of hotels in the Gulf States has risen due to the influx of almost permanent guest from the North American continent, lets hope that the Pentagon looks after the American taxpayer and demands bulk discount. I have also heard talk of batteries of patriot rockets are being stationed in Bahrain. I wonder why that could be.
Why do you think President Bush and every nation around Iran has Patriot and Arrow batteries? To shoot down conventional warheads on a Shahab 3?
No Iran purchased via the Russian GRU and FSB several Satan SS 20 nuclear warheads. Russia in doing this hopes it will foment an exchange with nuclear armed Saudi Arabia which has nukes as it funded the Pakistani project.
Iran has nukes. It is in the process of refining for production with South African and North Korean communist nuclear scientists bombs not for itself, but bombs for Venezuela and Cuba for a front against America.
Finally, God bless you Abdullah as your real persona has finally shone through in name calling of people God chose as His own in President Bush and the Americans. God gave you life and the record of your conversation is before Him and it shows you wanting of a humane soul.
God bless you Abdullah for George Bush will smile and turn the other cheek.
Lame Cherry: The Satan is the SS-18, not 20, and it's a missile, not a warhead.
Nevertheless, the idea of Iran armed with Russian-supplied nuclear weapons is disturbing indeed, especially if sold to other countries.
Unless we bomb Iran back into the stone age conventionally, the Al-ranians will probably get their one al-rebel-akbar yell by unleashing one or two nukes...while in return Israel or the U.S. creates a nice shiney glass parking lot out of Tehran.
I'll take option A so maybe some day Persia can rejoin the civilized world after being rescued from the assimilation of the Borg-o-slam.
Jihadee go home!!!
Assalamau Laikum all,
Despite all the rhetoric and steam letting here ...we all know that an Iran with nukes is inevitable. This could have been interesting 2 years ago...but the time to do any thing about it has passed.
What will be more interesting is the nature of the relationship that countries will want to develop with Iran once they have the nukes. I mean 2nd largest reserves of oil + nukes + SHIA Islam is a very very powerful combination, I am ASSURAed.
Countries around Iran will be clambering to be their friends...the friendliness towards the Amerike will cool, indeed the effectiveness of the Amerike in that region will be diminished.
It will effectively set up a new world order in that region...the Saud can no longer ask for Amerike protection for fear of extensive damage to them...dare they ask for Amerike nukes to be stationed in the Saud...this is a possibility...and Israel...well the less said the better.
The more peoples that learn Farsi...the better...ofcourse the peoples of Pak have always have had a very cordial relationship both with Iran and the Amerike....perhaps some changes here too.
Mikhail Danilov,
... I wish somebody would give Iran a little headstart on 'aquiring' a nuke.
If you know what I mean.
Yes, I know what you mean. I happen to mean the same.
"we all know that an Iran with nukes is inevitable."
....yes, but not in the way you envision.....
"The new centrifuges are in open defiance of the U.N. Security Council which last week imposed a new set of sanctions on Iran for refusing to halt enrichment."
.....oooohhhh, I will bet the Iranians have their panties pulled up tight over UN sanctions....
Nasseem,
...we all know that an Iran with nukes is inevitable. This could have been interesting 2 years ago...but the time to do any thing about it has passed.
Why do you think "the time to do any thing about it has passed"?
OK, so it will take a few more nukes than 2 years ago to, as you say, make it "interesting", but passed???
Iran has a hard time knowing where their territorial waters are. Do we really think they could hit a tiny little country like Israel?
A slight miscalulation and there goes Damascus.
Isaiah 17
1 The burden of Damascus. Behold, Damascus is taken away from being a city, and it shall be a ruinous heap
Whoops
Iran buys gasoline for 45 cents a liter and sells it to her people for 5 cents a liter.
With that kind of Math how can they go wrong?
LOL
this must be the kind of math the Muslims proudly boast they invented...
could also explain,in part, why Muslim held lands dwell in poverty....
One thing is sure, and you need not have a PHD to figure out. Iran will never have less of what ever they have, than they do right now.
Interrupting Fuel supplies in Iran render it pretty Impotent within 30-45 days.
Let Britain pound their targets by ship then clear their passage through the Gulf at full speed, out of retaliatory range.
It would make it kind of hard for Iran to respond against something no longer there.
The BBC won't like it but what else is new.
You need Blair to re-define the Hostage's as POW.
Declare unequivocally the Personnel were never in Iranian waters until kidnapped during UN sanctioned operations.
Her majesty's Government declares an intention to respond to the Iranian provocation at a time, manor and target of its choosing. To Convey to the Iranian people the level of seriousness attached to the return of its Personal.
Is Iran really going to start a war with the US because British targets are not around to shoot back at?