According to US intelligence agencies, a group of Iranian scientists has been working secretly on a method to build atomic weapons, the New York Times reported, citing current and former US officials who wished to remain anonymous. The information was gathered over the past few months of the Biden administration and then passed on to the new administration of President Donald Trump, the newspaper said.
The scientists were seeking ways to convert the nuclear material into a weapon in a matter of months, rather than in a year or more, as previously thought. Since the US withdrawal from the nuclear agreement with Iran in 2018, under the first presidency of Donald Trump, Tehran has resumed its uranium production, which was previously limited by the 2015 agreement to ensure that Iran’s atomic program was for peaceful purposes only.
Despite growing stockpiles of nuclear material, Iran does not yet have enough to build a weapon, with US intelligence data providing evidence that the Iranian scientists are now focusing on the final steps to convert the material into a fully functional weapon, the report said.
Following his inauguration, Trump hinted that he would not engage in a direct conflict with Iran and expressed a willingness to negotiate. Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has also repeatedly expressed a willingness to negotiate a new agreement.
If Tehran were to decide to change its policy and build a nuclear weapon, it would take only a few days to enrich the uranium to 90%, a level required for the production of a bomb, the newspaper reported. Iran already has enough uranium with a 60% enrichment level.
The report also noted that it would take 12 to 18 months to build a usable warhead from the highly enriched uranium, which could be mounted on a ballistic missile. However, according to US officials, Iran has the technology to produce an older type of atomic weapon, which could be built much faster and tested, allowing Iran to declare itself a nuclear power.
Due to its size, this type of weapon could not be mounted on a ballistic missile and would not pose an immediate threat, the newspaper reported. While it would be difficult to use this weapon against Israel, it could still have a deterrent effect, making states that might consider an attack on Iran “think twice” the report said.