Iran just six months from having NUCLEAR WEAPONS, warns UN chief as Donald Trump says he’s ready to take military action
IRAN could have nuclear weapons in six months’ time, a former UN chief has warned as Donald Trump says he is ready to military action if necessary.
The former head of the International Atomic Energy Agency’s (IAEA) security team Olli Heinonen warned that Israel and the Gulf states needed to be fully aware of the potential risk.
Heinonen, who also served as the organisation’s deputy director general, told Israel’s Army Radio that Iran could develop nuclear weapons in up to six to eight months “if they put in their maximum effort.”
He added that it was his personal, “perhaps back-of-the-envelope” calculation.
The 73-year-old Finn who is now a Senior Advisor at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies said: “Israelis need to be worried, and the Gulf states also have reason for concern.
"How will you be able to ensure your security if Iran achieves nuclear abilities?"
“Iran is actually weaponising uranium enrichment without making a weapon.”
Iran notified the signatories of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May it would no longer adhere to the commitments made in 2015 in the agreement.
Under the deal Iran had limits imposed on the quantities of uranium and heavy water it can produce, set at 300 kilograms and 130 tonnes, respectively.
'REASON FOR CONCERN'
The IAEA said last week Iran was remaining within the limits previously set but added stockpiles of low-enriched uranium and heavy water were increasing.
Heinonen also criticised US President Donald Trump and his decision to withdraw from the nuclear deal in May last year, indicating he thought the move could prove to be counterproductive.
He said: “I think they felt comfortable [with the Trump decision].
“They have the enrichment technology and they can create more centrifuges.
“Probably they [will be] able to withstand a lot of sanctions.”
The comments come as Trump declared he was ready to take military action against Iran.
In an interview on ITV's he described Iran as “extremely hostile,” adding there was a chance he would have to make a decision about launching a military strike.
The 72-year-old Republican leader said: “There's always a chance [I'd take military action].
"Do I want to? No. I'd rather not. But there's always a chance.”
Asked if he was prepared to talk to the country’s president Hassan Rouhani, 70, Trump said: “Yeah of course. I would much rather talk.
“So Iran is a place that was extremely hostile when I first came into office.
“They were a terrorist nation number one in the world at that time and probably maybe are today."
Just last month though Iran’s foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said there was “no possibility” of negotiations with the US over the spiralling tensions between Iran and the United States.
America has already deployed an aircraft carrier and B-52 bombers to the Persian Gulf to counter alleged, still-unspecified threats from Tehran.
And the US is planning to deploy as many as 120,000 troops to the Middle East if Iran attacks American forces.
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Tehran’s military commanders have claimed the Islamic republic was on the verge of an all-out confrontation with its enemies in May and was ready to counter any threat.
“Iran has the highest level of defence-military preparedness to confront any type of threat and excessive demands,” Defense Minister Amir Hatami told the Islamic Republic News Agency.
Major General Hossein Salami added: “This moment in history, because the enemy has stepped into the field of confrontation with us with all the possible capacity, is the most decisive moment of the Islamic revolution.”
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