Iran could have the resources to make three nuclear weapons, an expert has warned, although they would need six months to a year to do so.
The warning comes as Iran launched a drone attack on Israel, claiming to have deployed over 100 drones in retaliation after an Israeli strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus wiped out seven Revolutionary Guard members. Iran’s state-run IRNA news agency added that Tehran had fired ballistic missiles at targets inside Israel, as well as bomb-carrying drones.
David Sanger, a New York Times White House National Security Correspondent issues the warning speaking to CNN. Host Wolf Blitzer asked Mr Sanger how close Iran truly was to developing a nuclear capability, raising concerns over how Israel could retaliate to this latest round of attacks.
Mr Sanger explained: “The Iranians shipped most of their nuclear fuel out after the 2015 agreement with the Obama administration. After President Trump decided to pull out of that agreement they’ve slowly begun to build back up, and they probably have enough now for about three nuclear weapons.
“But it would take them probably about six months, maybe a year, to actually fashion it into a weapon. I think the bigger fear here now is that if we really are at the cusp of a new age, one in which there are direct strikes back and forth between Israel and Iran, the temptation for Iran to race ahead with a nuclear programme could be pretty high.
“Until now, they’ve been moving steadily, slowly, but they haven’t been racing toward it as far as we can tell, and that’s been an interesting bit of restraint. There’s a second thing we’re looking for… If it turns out that these waves are one and done, and in a few hours from now we’re not seeing more coming, then I think it’s a signal from Iran that they had to go out and do something, but they don’t plan to get into a situation where the Israeli’s are under pressure to go take the next step.
“If, on the other hand, this is followed by cruise missiles and others, that it truly is an effort to overwhelm the system, then that’s a very different thing.”
Asked about what would happen if Iran’s strikes were followed by proxies, such as Hezbollah, Mr Sanger said it “complicates it a lot”. Adding that it “particularly complicates it” because “President Biden and his aides have been on the phone to Prime Minister Netanyahu and others saying ‘Let’s let tonight be it if there are no significant casualties’.”
Iran had been threatening to attack Israel after the airstrike on April 1 that was widely blamed on Israel that destroyed Iran’s consulate in Syria, killing 12 including two top Iranian generals. Israel has made missile defence a priority, with a variety of air-defence systems available to shoot down incoming missile and drone fire.