A senior Israeli official said on Tuesday that it would take Iran around six months to amass the amount of fissile material needed to build a nuclear weapon, nearly double the “breakout time” estimated by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.  

During an interview with public broadcaster Kan, Israeli Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz said the previous US administration’s abandonment of the landmark nuclear accord in 2018 had weakened Tehran and “seriously damaged Iran’s nuclear project and entire force buildup.” 

“In terms of enrichment, they are in a situation of breaking out in around half a year if they do everything required,” Steinitz said. “As for nuclear weaponry, the range is around one or two years.” 

The landmark 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPOCA), set curbs on the purity and amount of Iran’s enriched-uranium stockpile. The world powers that signed the deal estimated it would take Iran at least a year to produce enough weapons-grade enriched uranium to develop a nuclear weapon in the event that it reneged on the agreement.