Iran two to three years from nuclear weapon: think tank (Caution!) - AFP

[Eugene]

CAUTION! IISS also said in 2002 that Iraq was in the advanced stages of developing nuclear weapons.

Iran two to three years from nuclear weapon: think tank

by Katherine Haddon

1 hour, 20 minutes ago

LONDON (AFP) - Iran could be only two or three years away from being able to produce a
nuclear weapon, the head of a leading international security think tank in London said.

John Chipman, of the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), said Iran
had stockpiled 250 tonnes of uranium hexafluoride (UF6), which, when enriched, would
be enough for 30 to 50 weapons.

But he stressed that Iran still faced other obstacles before it could build a weapon.

While Iran is "probably" on track to hit a target of producing 3,000 centrifuges -- the
machines which enrich uranium -- at its nuclear facility in Natanz by the end of March,
installing them and making them function properly would be complicated, Chipman said.

"If and when Iran does have 3,000 centrifuges operating smoothly, the IISS estimates it
would take an additional nine to 11 months to produce 25 kilogrammes (55 pounds) of
highly enriched uranium, enough for one implosion-type weapon.

-snip-

Full article: http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070131/wl_afp/britainirannuclear_070131182225

[onehandle]

1. Hey! Me too!

I could be only two or three years away from being able to produce a
nuclear weapon.

Why not?

[DRoseDARs]

2. Why not, you ask? Because you don't have any oil under you. n/t

[dipsydoodle]

4. Fancy yourself as David Hahn ?

Hahn, nicknamed the "Radioactive Boy Scout", is an Eagle Scout who had previously earned a merit badge in Atomic Energy and had spent years tinkering with basement chemistry which included small explosions. Furthering his experiments, Hahn diligently amassed radioactive material by collecting small amounts from (occasionally stolen) household products, such as americium from smoke detectors, thorium from camping lantern mantles, radium from clocks and tritium (as neutron moderator) from gunsights. His "reactor" was a large, cored-out block of lead, and he used lithium from $1000 worth of batteries to purify the thorium ash using a Bunsen burner.
>
Although his home-made reactor never achieved criticality, it ended up emitting toxic levels of radioactivity, around 1000 times normal background radiation. Alarmed, Hahn began to dismantle his experiments, but a chance encounter with police led to the discovery of his activities, which triggered a Federal Radiological Emergency involving the FBI and the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The Environmental Protection Agency, having designated Hahn's mother's property as a Superfund hazardous materials cleanup site, dismantled the shed and its contents and buried them as low-level radioactive waste in Utah. Hahn refused medical evaluation for radiation exposure.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Hahn

Cracks me up even thinking about that guy. :rofl:

[rocktivity]

3. Mods, please lock this thread

It's a duplicate of one posted in 2002 about Iraq being years away from having nuclear weapons.

:headbang:
rocknation