PM: ‘Iran can enrich uranium from 3.5% to 90% in weeks’
Israel Hayom | PM: ‘Iran can enrich uranium from 3.5% to 90% in weeks’.
At Sunday’s cabinet meeting, Netanyahu dismisses Iran’s claims that it would stop refining uranium above 5 percent • Technological improvements allow Iran to enrich uranium from 3.5% to 90% within a few weeks, says the prime minister.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu
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Photo credit: Reuters
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Speaking to his cabinet meeting on Sunday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that “Iran is willing to give up uranium enrichment to 20 percent and therfore discussion of this subject is irrelevant.”
Netanyahu added that “the importance of the subject has become redundant following technological improvements that allow Iran to enrich uranium from 3.5% to 90% within a few weeks. We have to increase the pressure on Iran because it continues to enrich uranium even while it negotiates.”
On Saturday, Israel had dismissed as “irrelevant” reports that Iran had halted its most sensitive uranium enrichment activity, and said Tehran’s nuclear program must be dismantled.
A senior member of Iran’s parliamentary national security commission was quoted as saying Iran had stopped refining uranium above the 5% required for civilian power stations, as it already had all the 20% enriched fuel it needed for a medical research reactor in Tehran.
This claim, however, was contradicted by Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of parliament’s national security and foreign policy committee. Lending credence to the Israeli assessment, Boroujerdi told Iran’s state-run news agency IRNA on Saturday that “enrichment to 20% is continuing.”
Diplomats accredited to the U.N. nuclear watchdog said they had no confirmation Iran had halted enrichment of uranium to 20% — a sensitive issue because it is a relatively short technical step to increase that to the 90% needed to make a nuclear warhead.
“The discussion on whether or not Iran has ceased 20% enrichment is irrelevant,” an Israeli official said.
“Even if Iran stopped 20% enrichment, it is still equipped with advanced centrifuges that allow it to go from a level of 3.5% enrichment to a military grade 90% within a few weeks,” the official added.
Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon commented Sunday on the recent Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) report regarding Iran’s nuclear progress, saying that Israel will not sit idly by as Iran develops nuclear weapons.
“We have made it crystal clear — in all possible forums, that Israel will not stand by and watch Iran develop weaponry that will put us, the entire Middle East and eventually the world, under an Iranian umbrella of terror,” Danon told USA Today.
“This speedy enrichment capability will make timely detection and effective response to an Iranian nuclear breakout increasingly difficult,” he said.
According to Israel Radio, Danon labeled the recent ISIS report as one that could be used as another justification for a possible Israeli strike in Iran, before it has the chance to accumulate enough enriched uranium to produce a nuclear bomb.
World powers seeking a diplomatic solution to the nuclear dispute with Iran want it to stop enrichment. Iran indicated in talks that resumed in Geneva last week that it might scale back its program to win sanctions relief.
Israel, believed to be the Middle East’s only atomic power, says Iran must be stripped of enrichment capabilities.
“The international community must ensure the complete dismantling of the Iranian military nuclear program, and until then sanctions must be stepped up,” said the Israeli official.
Western officials have said Iran must stop enriching uranium to 20%, increase the transparency of its nuclear program, reduce its uranium stocks and take other steps to reassure the world that it is not after nuclear weapons.
Iran and six world powers — the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany — said that this month’s talks in Geneva were positive and constructive. Negotiations are due to resume there on November 7-8.
The meeting was the first since Iranian President Hasan Rouhani came to office in August, promising to try to resolve the nuclear dispute and secure an easing of sanctions that have severely damaged Iran’s oil-dependent economy.
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WarSclerotic 
October 28, 2013 at 12:53 PM
If Bibi – who doesn’t really want to start a war – want to achieve some tangible effects, he should think to improve the ”threat strategy” that worked for him in the past. Grand maneuvers and ”phony” missiles redeployment should be taken into considerations, like preparations for the ”big thing”. This must be credible and executed with great care. Then, you’ll see parades of delegations arriving in Israel, trying to ” cool” down the things and Israel breaking free from its political corner it stays now. Do something, Bibi, my man! Change something. Bomb them, kick the shit of out of them, make them fear. Only don’t stand there and talk us to death. Please, only that no. We had enough of this.
October 28, 2013 at 1:14 PM
I just ”fall” on the Debka last entry, which Joseph might publish here later. Anyhow, a bizarre idea – or fact, its debka, so you cannot be too careful – is rising there: the mysterious disparition from the public eye of their chief ayatollah, Khamenei. Nobody had seen him on the relevant religious services, nor seen him in the usual places. What that might be ? Debka thinks he is learning a ”big secret” treaty US-Russia-Iran, before it will go public and will kick butts in Jerusalem and Riyadh. You know what? We don’t believe that. Picture this: he took a 3 weeks vacation for studying that shit. Lets get real. And, he cannot be seen. I’ll tell you what I think: the Iranian big shot, their supreme bitch, is worried from a sudden Israeli decapitation strike which may cut off – literally – his pretty head at the opening of the hostilities. Because, my Iranian sweeties, let there be no doubt: many of you wont make it after the ”overture”. Allah is waiting for you. You did a bad job on earth and you own him some explanations.
…and the link to this debka article :http://www.debka.com/article/23393/Mystery-of-missing-ayatollah-Ali-Khamenei’s-three-week-seclusion-for-work-on-nuclear-deal-with-US
October 28, 2013 at 1:51 PM
Luis, that makes perfect sense . great analysis !
October 28, 2013 at 2:32 PM
Thx.
October 28, 2013 at 3:28 PM
We know that the longer Israel waits, one of two things will happen:
1) The talks will yield a bad deal
2) The talks will continue to play for time
Either way, Iran will continue building bombs. it’s hard for me to comprehend how continuing to wait benefits Israel in any way, shape, or form.
October 28, 2013 at 4:32 PM
All is good and nice brothers. Everybody’s doing the talk – talk and others are enriching – reaching. All is good. But when Fox News are debating the news that the Iranians are only a month away from building their first atomic bomb – no Mazal Tov there – I suddenly feel uneasy and this is, of course, an understatement. All this Iran nuclear thing has turned to be some kind of BibiCare. I only hope that the roll out of Bibi’s ”health” plan wont be like the roll out of the 0bamacare(meaning, catastrophic).
October 28, 2013 at 8:03 PM
As infuriating as it is that Obama was elected here to 2 terms (I still will believe until I’m in my grave that the 2012 election was the biggest theft in our nation’s history), now we get to see Obama implode during his second term.
The failings of both his domestic and foreign policies which were apparent to most of us from the beginning will become undeniable to his biggest fans.
Right now lefties are waking up to see that the “affordable health care act” means premiums double, deductibles triple, and those who want out must pay a “tax” for not buying a product!
And it (hopefully) won’t be much longer before all of his foreign policies implode as well. His fans still think he can talk our enemies down into world peace. That illusion won’t last once the middle east goes up in flames………..
October 28, 2013 at 9:44 PM
Officially, he is supposed to be held accountable of all those ” glitches ” of his entire administration, and not only of his healthcare website. [ by the way, that beautiful face on that web home page? She is nowhere to be found. Every body are running like nuts to find out who she is, but the mystery is deep here…And she ”disappeared” from that web site, too.]
By now, all are knowing – from Snowden, from fired ”defectors” – who is who in the WH, who is ”talking” the decisions and who really takes them. They are taking care to keep him fed and happy, being their front man. In fact, there are not ”they”, but ”She”. And is not the movie.
October 28, 2013 at 11:29 PM
I was watching Fox tonight. What were they debating? Did 0bama knew before hand about the Angela Merkel smartphone bugging or not? In other words, was the President of the United States aware that his NSA was ”listening” to the private smartphone of one of the western leaders, in this case, Merkel, the chancellor of Germany. Not an easy one, I’ll say. Ok, then. So what was the ”WH” respond? ” The President didn’t know that.” Oho…sweeties. Just a moment, please. In this case, the president is : a) Incompetent, or b) a liar. You can choose your possibility.
I’ll take both. There is no fucking way 0bama didn’t know if such a listening program was taking place. He was supposed to get his briefings every morning. He is an incompetent man, conducted by a woman who wasn’t supposed to pull the strings of the US president. The tricky part is, there aren’t enough news agencies in the USA to monitoring all the failures, ”glitches” and the crap of this ”administration”. With a ”team” like this, with a front man like that and with a ”consigliere” like Valerie, boys and girls, its no wonder that the WH is in a so deep shit.
October 29, 2013 at 9:25 AM
When I read “biggest theft,” my mind immediately leapt to “Chadgate” 2000 with brother Jeb and Lehman Brothers hot on its heels.
Oh, I almost forgot, FUCK THE MULLAHS!!!