Nuclear weapons were once declared un-Islamic by Iran's supreme leader, who even issued a fatwa against their production.
But much has changed since the 1990s, and although Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is still at the head of the regime, nuclear weapons appear to be far from taboo.
Tehran, of course, insists On this. he has no plans to weaponize his nuclear program, which he says is for civilian purposes only.
According to the latest US intelligence assessment, Iran “is not currently undertaking key nuclear weapons development activities necessary to create a testable nuclear device.”
But that's not all.
Iran is building up producing highly enriched uranium that barely reaches the weapons-grade level required for an atomic bomb at the underground Fordow fuel enrichment plant.
Since 2019, as of February, Iran has increased the amount of enriched uranium from 997 kg to 5,525 kg.
This includes an increase in the amount of uranium enriched to 60 percent, or close to weapons grade, from 88 kg to 123 kg last year, a 38 percent increase.
UN inspectors noted this in February report that warned of new equipment and expansion of Fordo Base, a former Iranian Revolutionary Guards base 20 miles to the northeast. city of Qom.
“Iran sits on the cusp of nuclear weapons; it can build a bomb faster than at any time in its history,” said Kelsey Davenport, director of nonproliferation policy at the Arms Control Association.
“If Tehran makes a political decision to develop a nuclear arsenal, it could produce enough weapons-grade uranium for an explosive device in less than a week and enough for five or six weapons a month.”
She added: “Building a bomb will take longer – probably six months to a year – but this process will take place in secret, undeclared facilities, making it difficult to detect and violate.”
Iran Nuclear Deal
The build-up has its roots in the collapse of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), known as the Iran nuclear deal.
Signed in 2015, it offered Iran relief from Western sanctions in return. to stop international monitoring of its nuclear program. The parties to the agreement were the UK, EU, USA, China and Russia.
The Iran deal has angered American conservatives. Donald Trump, then campaigning to replace Barack Obama as president, called the deal “the worst deal ever.”
In 2018, despite the entreaties of his Western allies, then-President Trump withdrew the United States from the JCPOA . and restored Washington's sanctions against Tehran.
Both Donald Trump and Joe Biden are believed to have weakened the West. control over Iran's nuclear program Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA
This move mortally wounded the JCPOA. Its specter continues to linger in the form of some UN inspections of Iranian sites.
An attempt to revive the agreement early in Joe Biden's presidency failed due to Iranian resistance and a lack of political will in the United States.
Tehran asserted the right to cancel parts of the agreement after the US withdrawal.
Under the agreement, Iran agreed to tight restrictions that ensured it could not stockpile enough enriched uranium to produce one bomb.
The amount of enriched uranium is still well below the level of 2015, the year the JCPOA was signed, when it reached 7,953 kg, but is growing at the same rate as in the early 2010s.< /p >
UN inspectors have been denied access to some critical nuclear program sites, including centrifuge production facilities, since February 2021.
On Sunday, Iran denied inspectors access for “security” reasons. considerations” regarding a possible Israeli attack in response to its missile and drone attack on Israel on Saturday.
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