IAEA Data Show Iran Has Enough Uranium for Five Bombs - ISIS

The Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS), a think-tank which closely tracks Iran's nuclear program, said today that its analysis of the data recently released by the IAEA shows that Iran has produced enough low-enriched uranium in the past five years for at lease five nuclear weapons if refined to weapon-grade purity.

On Friday, the IAEA reported that Iran was pressing ahead with its uranium enrichment work. IAEA report said Iran has produced 6.2 tons of uranium enriched to a level of 3.5 percent since 2007, some 759 kg more than in previous IAEA report in February.

"This total amount of 3.5 percent low enriched uranium hexafluoride, if further enriched to weapon grade, is enough to make over five nuclear weapons," ISIS said in its analysis.

Iran began enriching uranium to a fissile concentration of 20 percent in 2010, saying it needed this to fuel a medical research reactor. It later expanded the work sharply by launching enrichment at Fordo underground site.

No agreements on scaling back the production of enriched uranium  could be reached between Iran and the six major powers during the Baghdad Talks that ended on Thursday.


Source: Reuters, 26 May 2012