Limits on Iran’s nuclear program are needed more than ever
Two recent IAEA reports indicate Iran has enough highly enriched uranium to produce material for a nuclear weapon in mere weeks.
![Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian (L) meets with head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Rafael Grossi (R) in Tehran on March 5, 2022.](/sites/default/files/styles/article_hero_medium/public/2022-06/GettyImages-1238941023.jpeg?h=3386f146&itok=LXIiS-Fk)
Two May 30 reports on Iran’s nuclear program by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) paint a dire picture. Iran has now produced over 43 kilograms of 60% highly enriched uranium (HEU). This is enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon if further enriched to 90%, a process that could take just a couple of weeks. Iran’s “breakout” time is thus below the margin of error for timely detection.
While it would take Iran several more months to fashion the HEU into a crude weapon, and perhaps two years to mount it on a missile, fissile material production is typically considered to be the long pole in making nuclear weapons — both the most visible and the most time-consuming step. For Iran, producing weapons-grade HEU is now the shortest pole.