Iran can produce enough fissile material for a nuclear bomb in less than two weeks, the United States warned as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday held a security assessment with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant that focused on threats from the Islamic Republic.
“It is assessed that Iran is not pursuing a nuclear weapons program at this time,” US Defense Department stated in a report it published on Friday called the “Strategy for Countering Weapons of Mass Destruction” in 2023.
Israel has long warned that Iran’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is a top global threat, but the US stated that when it came to weapons of mass destruction it was most concerned with China and Russia.
Those two nations “present the principle weapons of mass destruction challenge,” the report stated.
North Korea, Iran and violent extremist organizations “remain persistent regional threats that must be addressed,” the report explained.
Iran, in specific, it noted, “has the capacity to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear device in less than two weeks.”
It’s a conclusion that confirms statements US Defense officials have already said in the last half year.
But the fossil material is only part of what Iran needs to complete a nuclear bomb and other components such as a nuclear warhead that can be placed on a long-range missile have yet to be developed.
Iran banned from developing long-range missile capacity
The report comes as United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 is set to expire this month. It had banned Iran from developing long-range missile capacity connected to nuclear weapons.
Britain, France and Germany said on Thursday they would retain ballistic missile and nuclear proliferation-related sanctions on Iran even after the resolution expires.
On Friday, the US in its report on weapons of mass destruction accused Iran of noncompliance with obligations made under the Chemical Weapons Convention.
“For example, Iran has not submitted a complete chemical weapons production facility declaration” as required under the Chemical Weapons Convention, the report stated.
“The US is also concerned that Iran is pursuing dual-use central nervous system acting chemicals of offensive purposes,” the report added.
Reuters contributed to this report.