Iranian officials have created a storm of controversy over the weekend with comments regarding Iran’s nuclear capabilities. 

The first official to speak about it was Khamal Kharazi, adviser to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and chairman of the Strategic Council of Foreign Relations. During an interview with Al Jazeera on July 17, Kharazi was asked about the indirect nuclear negotiations between Iran and the United States to revive the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Kharazi said that given the US actions, especially their withdrawal from the deal in 2018, “It is difficult to conduct direct negotiations.”

Kharazi added, “It is known to everyone that we have the technical ability to build a nuclear bomb, but we have not made a decision to do this. In the span of a few days, we increased enrichment from 20% to 60% and we could easily enrich to 90%.”   

Kharazi’s comments made headlines in international media. Many experts have responded that while Kharazi is technically accurate, the process to make a nuclear bomb, and one that is deliverable, would take much longer than Kharazi is implying.