Report: Iran’s Arak reactor to have nuclear weapons grade plutonium by next summer
The Arak heavy water nuclear reactor in Iran will be capable of producing two nuclear bombs’ worth of weapons grade plutonium a year and will be capable of producing the material by next summer, according to a Wall Street Journal report on Monday that cited US, UN and EU officials.
Progress at Arak could complicate international efforts to negotiate with Iran on its suspected nuclear arms program and it also “heightens the possibility of an Israeli strike on the site,” the report stated, citing officials.
According to the report, US and the West has been focused mainly on Iran’s program to enrich uranium and that the issue of plutonium, that can also serve as a material for an explosive devise, took some officials by surprise.
Regarding the capabilities of the Arak reactor, the report quoted an official based at the IAEA’s Vienna headquarters who said that it “really crept up on us.”
The Wall Street Journal report stressed that a site like Arak was more vulnerable to attack compared to Iran’s other enrichment facilities at Natanz and Qom.
“There’s no question that the reactor and its heavy water are more vulnerable targets than the enrichment plants,” the report quoted Gary Samore as saying, a former top adviser on nuclear issues to US President Barack Obama.
“This could be another factor in [Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu’s calculations in deciding how long to wait before launching military operations,” Samore added.
The report cited current and former US officials who said an Israeli strike on Arak would likely have to take place prior to Iran introducing nuclear materials into the facility, in order to prevent an enormous environmental disaster.
Echoing this concern about the consequences of attacking a nuclear facility was a senior Israeli security official.
“Whoever considers attacking an active reactor is willing to invite another Chernobyl,” former Israeli military intelligence chief Amos Yadlin said last month, referring to the 1986 Soviet reactor accident which sent radioactive dust across much of Europe. “And there is no one who wants to do that.”
In May, Netanyahu said that Iran’s work on a heavy-water reactor to build a plutonium-based bomb and its nuclear enrichment program was “the biggest challenge of our time.”
The Islamic Republic claims its nuclear program is peaceful, and insists it will use the Arak facility to make isotopes for medical and agricultural use.
Reuters and Tovah Lazaroff contributed to this report.
WarSclerotic 
August 5, 2013 at 7:16 PM
Friends, the truth hour is here. We think it is the time to tell our readers – and Israelis especially – what is going on in the Arak reactor, far in Iran. The name ”Arak” is not another Iranian name, it was designated for a huge operation which I will expose right now.
”Arak” is the name for the Israeli national drink which is, you guessed right, arak. The prices in our country for this loved drink have doubled and our citizen are very sad(no kidding here) so, secretly with our friends, the Iranians, a huge operation was on the way: to built and use a new arak facility in Iran on Arak at a low cost which can help both the Iranians but mostly the Israelis. Bibi just heard about this infamous conspiracy to buy cheap arak from Arak and decided that he wont have that anymore, so my friends it is very possible that a big operation is underway against the arak from Arak.
August 5, 2013 at 8:07 PM
What is arak? Something like Ouzo?
August 5, 2013 at 8:22 PM
Its a kind of liquor, very popular in Israel. It is, practically, the Israeli national drink; and its true the fact that its price has doubled in Israel. The rest of the story is pure fiction.
August 5, 2013 at 8:32 PM
Ouzo (Greek)
Raki (Turkish)
Pernod (French)
Traditional Aperitif made of anis.
Clear like water but looks like milk when mixed with water.
Is that it?
August 5, 2013 at 8:46 PM
Ok, you got me with this one. I have never drank arak – seriously – but I’ve heard and read about the arak crisis in Israel. People were very pissed here when this drink’s price went cosmic.
August 5, 2013 at 8:57 PM
…after asking my wife, it became clear that you know more about the arak than me. Its like ouzo, like you said. When mixed with water it looks like milk, it tastes like anis.
August 5, 2013 at 9:46 PM
That’s a very good sign because it shows that Israel is now an integral part of the Mediteranean (this drink is popular in most countries around this sea).
if Hamas were clever they would be smuggling booze instead of weapons.
August 5, 2013 at 10:33 PM
Nice you put it, as usual. And I also feel the healthy humor in it. However, being a so close issue to my heart, I’ll let myself to say this: Israel – and the jews – are a part of the Mediterranean community from immemorial times. Because of their special believes and habits the jews here were always been considered as unusual and strange( see Freud). Slowly but surely, the fact of being so different among the others, played a very negative role in the acceptance of the jewish people among the region peoples and, eventually, in the world.
… and you got the Roots of the Antisemitism in a few lines. Sorry I couldn’t keep myself from lecturing. Its because of my profession, I guess (teacher).
August 5, 2013 at 11:35 PM
I can’t see the connection with antisemitism. Maybe you can help me understand.
I see it as a sign that those who lived so long in the diaspora are now fully at home.
The normal thing.It’s like me going back to Greece after living more than 4 decades in Germany.
August 6, 2013 at 2:23 PM
you mean aniseed a anis is something tony beats against
August 6, 2013 at 10:08 PM
Yes that’s what I meant. aniseed.
August 6, 2013 at 7:03 AM
To Artaxes : I’ll try help you to understand that connection with the Antisemitism and, for this purpose, please try to ask – if you wish, its not a must, of course – to the following question:
When did the anti-Semitism – or its primordial signs – sparked and why ? You can also try Freud – book 23, its about Moses and Monotheism, this book is a must; its not our usual boring book on subjects like this, but its more like a thriller, very seriously.
Take your time and read it. You’ll never be the same after reading this book. I know I wasn’t.
August 6, 2013 at 10:06 PM
The fact that the Jews were different or that they are different is not the cause of anti-semitism.
There are many people which are different. Take the Amish for example. They often become the butt of jokes but they are not hated.
Of course the result of group dynamics is often that minorities which are visibly different from the minority become the victims of persecution and mistreatment but that also does not explain anti-semitism.
The root of anti-semitism is the use of religion for political power or the misuse of religion by the state.
It began in Roman times when emperors declared themselves gods and demanded to be worshiped accordingly.
This naturally lead to a clash with the Jews because this was a violation of the first commandmend.
This lead also to a clash with the early Christians resulting in the persecution of the Christians under the Romans.
After centuries of persecution Christianity became the religion of the state which was very unhealthy because other religions and also various Christian sects where viewed as competitors and in these times tolerance was not a virtue.
Some Christians hated the Jews on theolgical grounds but mostly theology was misused for persecution of different beliefs. often this was just a part of a power game.
I’m not going into detail about the papacy or the inquisition but I want to just mention the fact that it is not so long ago that the popes had their own army.
Needless to say that all kinds of competing Christian sects and pagans were massacred.
This does not diminish the fact that the Jews suffered most under persecution for many centuries.
The theological reasons used to justify their persecution were propagated from generation to generation and took a live of their own.
There were very few who could read but even fewer had access to a bible or any other book before Gutenberg.
Each generation added their own outrageous accusations like blood libels and other horror stories.
Not surprising in these times of widespread superstition, illiteracy and lack of education these lies often enough repeated were beliefed as truth.
Like many other lies these accusations are so deeply rooted that it is hard to extinguish them.
In the muslim world the hate for Christian and Jews has its roots in muhammad who was personally involved in the killing and enslavement of Jews.
Because they rejected him he hated them and commanded his followers to do the same.
Again the same problem here. In islam there is no difference between the state and the religion.
The renaissance and the enlightnement brought more tolerance and more scepticism towards religion but this did not end anti-semitism because those who hated the Jews simply did seek and find new justifications for their hate.
This time they justified their hate by using racial theories based on the concept of evolution. These theories declared them the master race and the Jews as subhumans.
Anti-semitism is a hate that seeks and finds justifications for it. I bet that most people if they are honest to themselves can not say why they hate the Jews.
The communists hated the Jews because they were rich capitalists.
The capitalists hated the Jews because they were communist revolutionaries.
The Jews were hated because they sticked to their traditition and did not adapt to society.
When the Jews thaught that it was a good Idea to adapt to society and they dressed themselves and behaved like the rest they were still hated and accused of subverting society using this adaption as camouflage.
In short: ant-Semitism is a hate that finds always a justification for itself.
All the artcles and books that I’ve read failed to give a satisfying answer for the cause of anti-semitism.
This includes books from Leon Poliakov (an authority on the holocaust) and this short explanation from myself.
Unfortunately I’m very short on time at the moment but as soon as I have opportunity I want to read the book you mentioned.
Can you give me the exact title?
As far as my comment is concerned, I hope that you did not misunderstand it.
I’m aware that the Jewish people always were and hopefully always will be an integral part of the Mediteranean.
It was exactly meant in the innocent way that I mentioned.
August 6, 2013 at 10:48 PM
First things first. I completely understand you in the spirit that you meant and I only wished to make a point regarding the less known conditions when the anti-Semitism first appeared.
You were simply perfect when you wrote about the Romans, Jewish religion and the huge conflict that arises in those conditions.
Simply perfect, like it was. In a very coincidentally manner, we were debating exactly this issue, this evening, with my wife.
Regarding – again (!) – the seeds and the roots of the anti-Semitism, please try the Freud book, ”Moses and Monotheism, An Outline of Psycho-Analysis and Other Works”, Volume XXIII (1937-1939). I know, I know. One may say, ” Jesus, who has the time and the energy to read this ”thing” ??
But, my friend this is not a psycho-analysis usual book by Freud :
This is a thriller, like I previously said. Especially the part regarding Moses and his people. I wont say more, I don’t want to spoil.
And thank you for your elaborated answer.
August 6, 2013 at 11:45 PM
You’re welcome.
You as a teacher are surely aware that often we learn more from trying to answer a question than from anything else.
I envy teachers for their patience. That’s a thing I lack.
Thank you also for the book information. I’ve copyed it safely.
In case you want to try the arak, let it be told to you from a Greek how the best way to enjoy arak is.
The way the old people in Hellas do it.
First you need a day with complelely free time.
Ideally the sun is shining and you sit under a sunshade outdoors with a few good friends while good music is playing.
On the table there is lots of little salty snacks like olives, cheese anchovis etc. and also a bunch of water bottles and Arak.
Eat slowly, drink slowly. Enjoy the company. A backgammon board also won’t hurt. For the right state of mind you can use the video below. Yammas. Ok, have a nice evening.
August 7, 2013 at 12:00 AM
In this stage I can only imagine – and dream – about your beautiful scenario, but it will be the first thing I’ll do when some things will be in place, only with one little modification : it will be chess or even GO, because I’m very weak at backgammon.
Thanks again and may we all have a good night.
August 7, 2013 at 12:56 AM
Artaxes
one of the 12 Sutra, s deals whit the morning and early afternoon rituals for a healthy mind.
The most known is the Kama Sutra, not only sex , but a lot more.
Read it and try to start living it, understanding comes natural.
One of the blessing from importing parts of foreign culture by Alexander the great.