Can Iran produce 20 percent-enriched uranium?

Posted by Matt in February 8th, 2010 | 1 comment

Published in Iran, Nuclear, Centrifuge Equipment, centrifuges, defiance, Enrichment Plant, Enrichment Plants, Fuel Enrichment, Fuel Rods, Grade Material, Heu, Inefficiencies, Intelligence Services, Iran Iran, Leu, Reactor, Small Quantities, Stockpile, Technical Prowess, U 235, Uranium, Weapon Grade

Yes. Though Iran may encounter some challenges, it is technically equipped to produce 19.75 percent enriched uranium at the Natanz Fuel Enrichment Plant (note, any uranium enriched to under 20 percent U-235 is classified by the IAEA as LEU; uranium enriched to 20 percent or greater is classified as high enriched uranium (HEU).
If Iran were [...]

How Iran’s secret A-plant was exposed | The Jewish Chronicle

Posted by Matt in December 17th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Iran, Nuclear, Accuracy, Allies, Arab States, Bomb, centrifuges, Clock, Egypt, Grade Quality, Iran, iranians, Jewish Chronicle, Jordan, Main Objective, Missiles, Nuclear Device, Research Efforts, solid-fuel, Technology, Threshold, Uranium Enrichment

“Iran’s technological clock has almost finished turning,” he said. “In 2008 they mastered the technology of uranium enrichment and in 2009 they accumulated enough uranium for a first bomb, though it is not enriched so far to a military-grade quality of 93 per cent. “So far they have 1,700 kilos of low-grade enriched uranium and [...]

DEBKAfile – IAEA sources: Site near Qom must be a military enrichment facility

Posted by Matt in November 13th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Iran, centrifuges, Enrichment Facility, Nuclear Enrichment, Nuclear Warheads, Tens Of Thousands, Uranium, weapons

“The enrichment hall is too small to house the tens of thousands of centrifuges needed for peaceful industrial nuclear enrichment, but it is the right size to contain the few thousand advanced machines that could generate the amount of weapons-grade uranium needed to make nuclear warheads.”
DEBKAfile – IAEA sources: Site near Qom must be a [...]

Iran: Can Obama play hardball? – washingtonpost.com

Posted by Matt in October 29th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Iran, Alternate Plan, centrifuges, Hardball, Iran Nuclear, Nuclear Clock, Robert Kagan, Russia, tehran, Test Results, Uranium

So now the test results are in: Iran’s intentions, it seems, are not good. Tehran apparently will not accept the deal but will propose an alternate plan, agreeing to ship smaller amounts of low-enriched uranium to Russia gradually over a year. Even if Iran carried out this plan as promised — every month would be [...]

DEBKAfile – The Qom enrichment facility is not Iran’s only hidden nuclear plant

Posted by Matt in October 24th, 2009 | 1 comment

Published in Iran, centrifuges, Covert Weapons, Deceptions, Diplomatic Engagement, Enrichment Facilities, Enrichment Facility, Existence, IAEA, Implication, Intriguing Question, Iran Nuclear, Natanz Facility, Nuclear Plant, Provenance, tehran, Uranium Hexafluoride, Watchdog, Western Intelligence

In the wake of Qom, could there be a hidden nuclear plant? Where would the Qom facility obtain the uranium hexafluoride for the centrifuges? It can’t get it from the Natanz facility because it’s too closely monitored by the UN.
The implication of the existence of the Qom facility implies another hidden nuclear plant.
The most intriguing [...]

Salehi: We’re planning new centrifuges for 2nd nuclear site | Iranian – Iran News | Jerusalem Post

Posted by Matt in October 6th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Iran, Centrifuge, centrifuges, International Concerns, Iran News, Iranian News, Iranian Newspaper, Jerusalem Post, News Iran, Nuclear Work, Uranium Enrichment

Iran plans to install a more advanced type of centrifuge at its newly revealed uranium enrichment site, an Iranian newspaper reported Tuesday, a development certain to add to international concerns about the country’s nuclear work.
Salehi: We’re planning new centrifuges for 2nd nuclear site | Iranian – Iran News | Jerusalem Post

I.A.E.A. Reports Iranian Nuclear Progress

Posted by Matt in June 5th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Iran, Nuclear, Atomic Energy Agency, Centrifuge, centrifuges, Containment, David Albright, Enriching Uranium, Enrichment Plant, Fep, Fuel Enrichment, Hexafluoride, International Atomic Energy, International Atomic Energy Agency, International Atomic Energy Agency Iaea, IR-2, IR-3, IR-4, Leu, Nuclear Fuel, Nuclear Weapons, Reactor, Security Council Resolutions, Shire, Surveillance Measures

A week before Iran’s presidential election, atomic inspectors reported Friday that the country has sped up its production of nuclear fuel and increased its number of installed centrifuges to 7,200 — more than enough, weapon experts said, to make fuel for up to two nuclear weapons a year, if the country decided to use its [...]

Pakistan exchanged Nuclear technology for North Korean long range missiles: US

Posted by Matt in June 2nd, 2009 | no comment

Published in Koreas, Missiles, Nuclear, Pakistan, centrifuges, Communist Party, Congressional Report, Heu, Hwang Jang Yop, Jang, Lawmakers, Missile Technology, North-Korea, Nuclear Scientist, Nuclear Technology, Nuclear Weapons, Pakistan, Party Secretary, Range Missile, Range Missiles, Uranium Enrichment

North Korea received designs for uranium enrichment centrifuges from Pakistan’s disgraced nuclear scientist A Q Khan in return for its long-range missiles, a Congressional report has told US lawmakers.
“Hwang Jang-yop, a Communist Party secretary who defected in 1997, has stated that North Korea and Pakistan agreed in the summer of 1996 to trade North Korean [...]

Forecast 2009

Posted by Matt in April 6th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Geopolitical, Black Death, centrifuges, Chemical Warheads, Cities Of Israel, Commodity Production, Educational System, Fight To The Death, Forecast, Great Depression, Hamas, hezbollah, Iran Iran, Knock Down, Missiles, Never Again, Nuclear Warhead, Nuclear Warheads, Population One, Rapprochement, Russian Power, Stratfor, Subprime Mortgage Crisis

Stratfor gave itself an F for completely missing the subprime mortgage crisis. The biggest economic story since the great depression, and Stratfor completely missed it. Ouch!
I think Stratfor’s analysis of Russia is correct in that Russia is in a long-term decline. Short-term, however, anything goes. By short-term I mean the next 15 to 20 years.
Strafor’s [...]

Iran Can Get Material to Make 50 Nukes

Posted by Matt in March 4th, 2009 | no comment

Published in Iran, Nuclear, Associated Press, Bloomberg, centrifuges, Fissile, Heu, Iran Military, Iran Missiles, Iran Nuclear, Iranian Missiles, Irgc, Israel, Israel Nuclear, Israeli Nukes, Military Chief, Missile Range, Next Five Years, Nuclear Bomb, Nuclear Bombs, Nuclear Facilities, Nuclear Installations, Nuclear Missiles, Nuclear Weapon, Nuclear Weapons, Nukes, Reuters, Tehran Iran, Tv Iran

Iran can develop a nuclear weapon within a year and has access to enough fissile material to produce up to 50 nuclear weapons, a panel of current and former U.S. officials advising the Obama administration said Wednesday.
…
Iran has declared its intention to add another 45000 centrifuges over the next five years.
Read More…
My Comment:
It takes about [...]