U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken says Iran may be weeks away from having a functioning nuclear bomb.
Speaking to NBC, Blinken says Iran is currently months away from having enough nuclear material for a bomb, but it could be ready in “a matter of weeks” if Iran continues to ignore agreements with the international community.
In 2015, the United States, Iran and other major nations signed the Iran nuclear deal. In the agreement, Iran agreed to restrict its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.
In 2019, Iran started openly ignoring the terms of the nuclear deal after the United States abandoned the deal and imposed new sanctions. The previous Trump administration accused Iran of not following the deal from the beginning.
Most recent UN estimates say Iran has 2.4 tonnes of enriched uranium, more than 10 times the amount allowed under the deal.
Blinken says the United States would be willing to return to the agreement, despite concerns the Islamist regime will never abandon its goal of a nuclear missile.
In a recent statement, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz estimates there may be six months before Iran has the means to create a bomb, adding that President Trump “seriously damaged Iran’s nuclear project and entire force build-up.”
“In terms of enrichment, [the Iranians] are in a situation of breaking out in around half a year if they do everything required,” he said.
True North contributor Sam Eskenasi has studied the Middle East extensively and says ending sanctions against Iran may enable it to launch attacks on Canadian allies including Israel.
“Getting close to Iran might embolden the regime, might give them new funds, and reduce some of the sanctions which would free them up to cause trouble,” he said in a recent video.
“Iran is one of the largest state-sponsors of terror, and has a number of covert operations trying to destabilize its neighbours.”
