There is no evidence Iran has decided to rush toward building a nuclear weapon, CIA director says

https://www.nbcnews.com/investigations/no-evidence-iran-rushing-build-nuclear-weapon-cia-director-says-rcna174004

23 Comments

  1. **But should Iran choose to secure enough fissile material for a bomb, said CIA Director William Burns, it is now capable of doing so quickly.**

    Which mean Iran can quickly build nuclear grade bomb if it so wish and Iran does not allow UN to inspect the facility so who knows.

  2. TheWallerAoE3 on

    Iran has always been five years away from a nuke as long as I can remember. It’s similar to a Brazilian saying, ‘Brazil is the country of the future and always will be because that future never arrives’  

     I expect I’ll be reading the headline ‘Iran just five years away from nuclear bomb’ in my nineties.

  3. Brilliant_User_7673 on

    Surely the CIA director can’t be this naive…

    Sounds more like a political statement.

  4. CIA’s purpose is not to give objective reports to the masses regarding what the “enemies” are up to

  5. >“Speaking at the Cipher Brief security conference in Sea Island, Georgia, Burns said Iran has advanced its nuclear program by stockpiling uranium enriched to near weapons-grade levels. As a result, Iran could quickly secure enough fissile material for an atomic bomb if it chose to and there would be less time for the outside world to respond, he said.”

    >“Iran has developed the “means of delivery” for a potential nuclear weapon by building up its missile arsenal, he said. And since the U.S. pulled out of the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and major powers known as the JCPOA in 2018, Tehran “is in a much closer position to produce a bomb’s worth of … enriched material for a single weapon,” Burns said.”

    If all you did was read the headline, you would be left completely misled about the precariousness of the situation we are in. That is deeply unfortunate.

    There is a reason you ask the person to put down the weapon and kick it away before you restrain them if possible. The goal is to stop something bad from happening *before* there are permanent negative consequences. Not to be the first to report on the devastation.

    This needs to be stopped while it is still possible.

  6. ImprovementSilly2895 on

    If their nuclear facilities are hit, they will. North Korea is only a phone call away.

  7. If there was anyone that I wouldn’t take at face value, it would be the Director of the CIA.

  8. Suitable-Ratio on

    That sounds like a creative way to say the facilities housing their nuclear program are getting destroyed closer to the end of the month.

  9. ImportantType867 on

    It’s miraculous that none of the ballistic missiles that hit Israel didn’t have a nuclear warhead. But Iran did gather good data of how to get a warhead through. Pretty sure that Russia or North Korea would sell a nuke if the price was right.

  10. Adventurous_Bat8573 on

    If they were, would the CIA director tell us that? Of course not.

    May as well post a statement saying “Iran already has 5 nuclear warheads and is building 3 more right now.”

  11. OptimismNeeded on
  12. Rush is the key word. The pace they’re going at is already too fast. Just because they’re not rushing doesn’t mean they’re not making progress. There may also be things that the CIA is not aware of. Lack of evidence doesn’t mean it’s not happening, it just means the CIA hasn’t detected it. They don’t have eyes on all of Iran.

  13. Don’t say that to Republicans. They spend their whole lives in outrage, fear and hate of things that will never, ever, affect their lives.

  14. UnifiedQuantumField on

    We did have an agreement with Iran re: nukes. The JCPOA

    https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/what-iran-nuclear-deal

    >The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), commonly known as the Iran nuclear deal, was established in 2015 between Iran and six world powers (the U.S., U.K., France, Russia, China, and Germany) to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from economic sanctions.

    >In May 2018 (during the Trump administration), the U.S. unilaterally withdrew from the agreement, reinstating sanctions on Iran. This prompted Iran to gradually reduce its compliance with the deal.

    Interesting times, wasted opportunities and all that.