Iran’s nuclear gamble: Buying time or looming threat? - analysis

Recent developments in Iran’s nuclear ambitions indicate that the Islamic Republic is on the cusp of achieving a nuclear weapon. Many experts estimate that the Iranian regime should already have enough fissile nuclear material to build a few bombs if the leaders decide to. 

This analysis seems to be a consensus among experts, but Iran’s next steps remain a matter of discussion. After Israel assassinated a Hamas leader in Tehran last month, the world’s focus remains on Iranian threats of retaliation—but all the while, Iran may be quietly starting a new era of diplomacy under the Islamic regime.

Andrea Stricker, deputy director of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies’ Nonproliferation and Biodefense Program, told The Media Line that Tehran now can produce weapons-grade uranium for at least 13 nuclear weapons in under four months.

“Iran is steadily reducing the time it requires to make multiple nuclear weapons while hardening its nuclear assets underground and reducing international oversight,” she said, noting that recent intelligence indicates that Iranian scientists have been engaging in atomic weaponization activities.

Shahin Modarres, the Iranian desk director at the International Team for the Study of Security Verona, detailed the discrepancy between Iran's nuclear program and its public statements. READ MORE