Blinken: Iran is only 'one or two weeks' away from obtainable material for nuclear weapon
**The Iran is estimated by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to be only "one or two weeks" away from having enough material for an atomic weapon. "Because the nuclear deal was terminated, Iran is not just over a year away from acquiring the capability to produce nuclear material for an atomic weapon, but now likely only one or two weeks," Blinken said at the Security Conference in Aspen, Colorado.
Blinken added that Iran has not developed any nuclear weapons so far. However, the situation is "not good," the diplomat said, adding that the US government is closely monitoring the development in this matter. In the past few months, it has been shown that the Tehran government is making progress with its atomic program, Blinken continued. He confirmed the US goal of preventing Iran from having a nuclear weapon. To achieve this goal, the US will continue to "prefer the diplomatic path."
The US, France, Britain, Germany, Russia, and China signed a nuclear deal with Iran in 2015. The deal aimed to prevent Tehran from developing nuclear weapons. In 2018, the US unilaterally withdrew from the deal under then-President Donald Trump. Since then, Iran has gradually stopped complying with its obligations. Negotiations on reviving the deal have been unsuccessful since then.**
- Given the recent remarks from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, there are concerns that Iran might only need "one or two weeks" to amass sufficient material for an Atomic Weapon.
- The material necessary for an Atomweapon production by Iran, which was previously estimated to be over a year away, has now reportedly come down to only a few weeks, according to Blinken.
- Despite not having developed any Atomic Weapon yet, the US is closely monitoring Iran's progress, acknowledging that it has made significant strides in its atomic program within the past few months.
