Will Iran have a bomb this year?

Several think tanks, including the IISS, are predicting that later on in 09 Iran will have enough low-enriched uranium to build a nuclear bomb. Although it is possible to buid a nuclear bomb with low-enriched uranium, typically around 20% U-235, you would need a lot of this stuff to reach critical mass. Even then, the bomb would be crude and inefficient.

If the report is true, the question to ask is Iran willing to wait until it has enough highly-enriched uranium to build a bomb or does it go ahead and build a crude nuke? With Obama already preparing to sit down and talk with Iran I think Iran will go with the former.Sky

Iran will have enough enriched uranium to make a single nuclear weapon later this year, the prestigious International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) predicts.

The think tank's Mark Fitzpatrick made the announcement at today's launch of its annual global review of military powers.

During 2009, Iran will probably reach the point at which it has produced the amount of low-enriched uranium needed to make a nuclear bomb.