Blinken: Iran Could Produce Nuclear Bomb Fissile Material in ‘One or Two Weeks,

Iran can produce the fissile material necessary for a nuclear weapon within “one or two weeks,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated on Friday, July 20. This announcement follows the recent election of moderate President Masoud Pezeshkian.

Pezeshkian has expressed his intention to end Iran’s economic isolation and revive the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and global powers. However, Blinken disagreed with Pezeshkian’s optimism, noting that “what we have seen in the last weeks and months is an Iran that’s actually moving forward” with its nuclear program.

In 2018, the United States, under former President Donald Trump, unilaterally withdrew from the nuclear deal, which aimed to regulate Iran’s nuclear activities in exchange for lifting economic sanctions.

Speaking at an event, Blinken attributed the acceleration of Iran’s nuclear capabilities to the collapse of the deal. “Instead of being at least a year away from having the breakout capacity of producing fissile material for a nuclear weapon, Iran is now probably one or two weeks away from doing that,” Blinken said. He also clarified that Iran had not yet developed a nuclear weapon.

Last month, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) reported that Iran is expanding its nuclear capacities. Tehran has informed the agency about installing more cascades of centrifuges used in uranium enrichment at its Natanz and Fordow facilities. Iran is the only non-nuclear weapons state enriching uranium to a high level of 60 percent, which is just short of weapons-grade.

Following the US withdrawal, Iran has gradually deviated from its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal. However, Iran’s acting foreign minister, Ali Bagheri, told CNN earlier this week that the country remains committed to the accord, known as the JCPOA.

“We are still a member of JCPOA. America has not yet been able to return to the JCPOA, so the goal we are pursuing is the revival of the 2015 agreement,” he said, adding, “We are not looking for a new agreement.”