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CNN
14 hours ago
- Politics
- CNN
Everything you need to know about Iran's nuclear program
After decades of threats, Israel on Friday launched an audacious attack on Iran, targeting its nuclear sites, scientists and military leaders. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the operation had 'struck at the head of Iran's nuclear weaponization program.' But international assessments, including by the US intelligence community, say that Iran's nuclear program isn't currently weaponized. Tehran has also repeatedly insisted it isn't building a bomb. Still, that doesn't mean it couldn't if it chose to. Iran has spent decades developing its nuclear program and sees it as a source of national pride and sovereignty. It maintains the program is solely for peaceful energy purposes and plans to build additional nuclear power plants to meet domestic energy needs and free up more oil for export. Nuclear plants require a fuel called uranium – and according to the UN nuclear watchdog, no other country has the kind of uranium that Iran currently does without also having a nuclear weapons program. That has fueled suspicions that Iran isn't being fully transparent about its intentions. Tehran has used its stockpile of weapons-grade uranium as a bargaining chip in talks with the United States, repeatedly saying it would get rid of it if US-led sanctions are lifted. So, what exactly is uranium's role in a nuclear weapon, and how far is Iran from weaponizing its program? Here's what you need to know. The US launched a nuclear program with Iran in 1957. Back then, the Western-friendly monarch – the Shah – ruled Iran and the two countries were still friends. With backing from the US, Iran started developing its nuclear power program in the 1970s. But the US pulled its support when the Shah was overthrown during the Islamic Revolution in 1979. Since the revolution, which transformed Iran into an Islamic Republic, Western nations have worried the country could use its nuclear program to produce atomic weapons using highly enriched uranium. Iran has maintained that it does not seek to build nuclear weapons. It is a party to the UN's Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), under which it has pledged not to develop a bomb. Here's where its nuclear facilities are located. At the heart of the controversy over Iran's nuclear program is its enrichment of uranium – a process used to produce fuel for power plants that, at higher levels, can also be used to make a nuclear bomb. In the early 2000s, international inspectors announced that they had found traces of highly enriched uranium at an Iranian plant in Natanz. Iran temporarily halted enrichment, but resumed it in 2006, insisting it was allowed under its agreement with the UN's nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). It prompted years of international sanctions against Iran. After years of negotiations, Iran and six world powers in 2015 agreed to a nuclear deal that limited Iran's nuclear threat in return for lighter sanctions. The deal required Iran to keep its uranium enrichment levels at no more than 3.67%, down from near 20%, dramatically reduce its uranium stockpile, and phase out its centrifuges, among other measures. Uranium isn't bomb-grade until it's enriched to 90% purity. And nuclear power plants that generate electricity use uranium that is enriched to between 3.5% and 5%. It's unclear how close Iran might be to actually building a nuclear bomb, if at all, but it has made significant progress in producing its key ingredient: highly enriched uranium. In recent years, it has sharply reduced the time needed to reach weapons-grade levels – now requiring just about a week to produce enough for one bomb. In 2018, Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal and initiated new sanctions on the regime to cripple its economy. Tehran in turn said it would stop complying with parts of the agreement, and started increasing uranium enrichment and uranium stockpiles, and using advanced centrifuges. It removed all of the IAEA equipment previously installed for surveillance and monitoring activities. The Biden administration then kicked off more than a year of indirect negotiations with Iran aimed at reviving the deal, but those broke down in 2022. In 2023, the IAEA said uranium particles enriched to 83.7% purity – close to bomb-grade levels – were found at an Iranian nuclear facility. Its stockpile of uranium enriched up to 60% had also grown to 128.3 kilograms, the highest level then documented. And last year, the US shortened Iran's so-called 'breakout time' – the amount of time needed to produce enough fissile material for a nuclear weapon – 'to one or two weeks.' An IAEA report sent to member states late last month said Iran's stock of 60% purity enriched uranium had now grown to 408 kilograms. That is enough, if enriched further, for nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick. The IAEA has long accused Iran of violating its non-proliferation obligations, but on Thursday – for the first time in almost 20 years – its board passed a resolution officially declaring Iran in breach of those obligations. Iran promised to respond by escalating its nuclear activities. Enrichment is a process that increases the amount of uranium-235, a special type of uranium used to power nuclear reactors or, in much higher amounts, to make nuclear weapons. Natural uranium is mostly uranium‑238 – about 99.3%, which isn't good for power or bombs. Only about 0.7% is uranium‑235, the part needed to release energy. For nuclear energy use, that tiny amount of useful uranium-235 needs to be concentrated. To do this, uranium is first turned into a gas, then spun at high speeds in machines called centrifuges. These machines help separate uranium-235 from the more common uranium-238. That is what enrichment is. Uranium used in nuclear power plants is typically enriched to about 3.67%. To make a nuclear bomb, it needs to be enriched to around 90%. Iran has enriched uranium to 60% – not enough for a bomb, but a major step closer to weapons-grade material. Centrifuges are essential for enriching uranium. The more advanced the centrifuge, the faster and more efficiently it can separate uranium-235 from uranium-238 – shortening the time needed to produce nuclear fuel or, potentially, weapons-grade material. Iran has spent decades improving its centrifuge technology, starting with its first-generation IR-1 model in the late 1980s. Today, it operates thousands of machines, including advanced models like the IR-6 and IR-9. According to the Arms Control Association, Iran's current centrifuge capacity could allow it to produce enough weapons-grade uranium for a bomb in less than two weeks. Israel says it's targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure in its attack. Natanz, the facility at the heart of Iran's nuclear ambitions, was engulfed in flames on Friday, according to social media images geolocated by CNN and Iranian state television coverage. The nuclear complex there, about 250 kilometers (150 miles) south of the capital Tehran, is considered Iran's largest uranium enrichment facility. Analysts say the site is used to develop and assemble centrifuges for uranium enrichment, a key technology that turns uranium into nuclear fuel. The IAEA said three nuclear sites, Fordow, Isfahan and Bushehr, had not been impacted. Six of Iran's nuclear scientists were also killed in Israel's strikes, Iranian state-affiliated Tasnim news agency said. Iran has spent years strengthening its nuclear structures against the threat of military strikes, which will make it difficult to comprehensively destroy them, military experts have told CNN. Some facilities are buried deep underground to put them out of reach of Israel's weapons.
Malay Mail
a day ago
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Trump: Israel attack on Iran could derail nuclear talks, tensions at boiling point
WASHINGTON, June 13 — President Donald Trump warned yesterday that Israel may soon strike Iran's nuclear sites, but urged the key US ally to hold off as he stressed his commitment to a diplomatic solution. Tensions have soared in the region in the last two days with Trump warning of a 'massive conflict' and drawing down US staff. Tehran meanwhile defiantly vowed to increase its output of enriched uranium—a key sticking point in talks with Washington—after being censured by the UN's atomic watchdog. 'I don't want to say imminent, but it looks like it's something that could very well happen,' Trump told reporters at the White House when asked if an Israeli attack loomed. Trump said he believed a 'pretty good' deal on Iran's nuclear program was 'fairly close,' but said that an Israeli attack on its arch-foe could wreck the chances of an agreement. The US leader did not disclose the details of a conversation on Monday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but said: 'I don't want them going in, because I think it would blow it.' Trump quickly added: 'Might help it actually, but it also could blow it.' News outlet Axios reported that Trump had said the United States would not participate in any strikes. US troops in crosshairs Trump later appeared to want tensions dialed down in a post on social media, while insisting that Iran must 'give up hopes' of developing a nuclear weapon. 'We remain committed to a Diplomatic Resolution to the Iran Nuclear Issue! My entire Administration has been directed to negotiate with Iran,' Trump said on his Truth Social network. Tensions have rapidly escalated in the past few days amid growing speculation that Israel could push ahead with air strikes on Iran. Trump's Middle East pointman Steve Witkoff is set to hold a sixth round of talks with Iran on Sunday in Oman, which has mediated efforts towards a nuclear deal so far. But Iran has also ramped up rhetorical pressure before the talks, including with a threat to strike American bases in the region if the negotiations break down and conflict erupts. 'If the talks fail, the risk of military escalation becomes much more immediate,' said Hamidreza Azizi, a visiting fellow at the German Institute for International and Security Affairs. The United States on Wednesday said it was reducing embassy staff in Iraq—long a zone of proxy conflict with Iran. Israel, which counts on US military and diplomatic support, sees the cleric-run state in Tehran as an existential threat and hit Iranian air defenses last year. Netanyahu has vowed less restraint since the unprecedented October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Tehran-backed Hamas, which triggered the massive Israeli offensive in Gaza. 'Non-compliance' The United States and other Western countries, along with Israel, have repeatedly accused Iran of seeking a nuclear weapon, which it has repeatedly denied. Israel again called for global action after the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) accused Iran on Wednesday of non-compliance with its obligations. The resolution could lay the groundwork for European countries to invoke a 'snapback' mechanism, which expires in October, that would reinstate UN sanctions eased under a 2015 nuclear deal negotiated by then US president Barack Obama. Trump pulled out of the deal in his first term and slapped Iran with sweeping sanctions. Iran's nuclear chief, Mohammad Eslami, slammed the resolution as 'extremist' and blamed Israeli influence. In response to the resolution, Iran said it would launch a new enrichment center in a secure location. Iran would also replace 'all of these first-generation machines with sixth-generation advanced machines' at the Fordo uranium enrichment plant, said Behrouz Kamalvandi, spokesman of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran. Iran currently enriches uranium to 60 percent, far above the 3.67-percent limit set in the 2015 deal and close, though still short, of the 90 percent needed for a nuclear warhead. — AFP
ABC News
a day ago
- Politics
- ABC News
Trump warns of 'chance of massive conflict' as Iran-Israel tensions rise
US President Donald Trump says the Middle East is facing the "chance of massive conflict" after Iran revealed it had received a warning that Israel was planning to attack it. Regional tensions are rising after a new UN watchdog finding that Iran was not complying with commitments designed to prevent it from building a nuclear weapon. Iran responded angrily and announced it would activate a new nuclear enrichment facility, which would be the country's third. "The Islamic Republic of Iran has no choice but to respond to this political resolution," the Iranian Foreign Ministry and Atomic Energy Organization said in a joint statement. Separately, an Iranian official said a "friendly country" had warned Tehran that Israel was planning to strike its nuclear facilities. The US on Wednesday, local time, said it was ordering some American personnel to move out of Iraq. There are fears US facilities could be the target of Iranian retaliation to any attack. On Thursday, Mr Trump said: "Look, there's a chance of massive conflict. "We have a lot of American people in this area. And I said, we gotta tell them to get out because something could happen. Soon. "And I don't want to be the one that didn't give any warning and missiles are flying into their buildings. It's possible." Asked how imminent an Israeli strike on Iran was, he said: "I don't want to say imminent, but it looks like something that could very well happen." The US has been attempting to negotiate a nuclear agreement with Iran, something which Mr Trump says is "fairly close". "As long as there is an agreement, I don't want them [Israel] going in [to Iran] because I think it would blow it," Mr Trump said. "Might help it, actually, but it also could blow it." In 2018, the first Trump administration pulled the US out of an existing deal with Iran, and Iran has rapidly advanced its uranium enrichment program in the years since. But the UN watchdog's declaration that Iran is not complying with its non-proliferation obligations is the first finding of its kind in almost 20 years. The watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), warned that Iran had amassed more near-weapons-grade uranium and was now "the only non-nuclear-weapon state to produce such material". It could mean Iran is referred to the UN Security Council and penalised with further sanctions. Mr Trump has previously warned that either Israel or the US could strike Iran's nuclear facilities if Iran does not agree to a nuclear deal. A sixth round of talks between Iran and the US is scheduled to start on Sunday in Oman.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
As the Middle East teeters on the brink, Trump could be forced into war with Iran
US president Donald Trump faces a make or break moment in his long-running confrontation with Iran. The UN's nuclear watchdog has just reached the damning conclusion that Iran is in breach of its non-proliferation agreement for the first time in 20 years. Trump has been personally responsible, in recent years, for the significant rise in tensions in Washington's decades-old feud with the ayatollahs. Having taken the decision in 2018 to end American participation in the Iranian nuclear deal, negotiated by former president Barack Obama, Trump has invested a great deal of political capital in his second term in an effort to resolve the issue once and for all. Trump's offer to reopen talks with Tehran, made in a personal letter sent to Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shortly after the president returned to the White House this year, held out the prospect of lifting the punitive sanctions imposed against Tehran during his first term in office. This would be in return for Iran curbing her nuclear ambitions. There were even suggestions that Trump, following several rounds of talks between American and Iranian officials in the Gulf state of Oman (another session is due to take place in Muscat on Sunday), might be prepared to agree a 'soft' deal with Tehran. This would allow Iran to continue work on its nuclear programme on condition that tight safeguards were in place to prevent the production of nuclear warheads. Such an outcome would bear little difference to the deal Obama negotiated in 2015, and would be sure to cause outrage in Israel, where prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that only the complete dismantling of Iran's nuclear programme would be acceptable. Trump's hopes of achieving a breakthrough, though, now appear to have been torpedoed by the alarming evidence produced by the latest report published by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN body responsible for monitoring Iran's nuclear activities. Apart from confirming the existence of three previously undisclosed nuclear sites in Iran, it says that unexplained traces of nuclear material have been found at these and another site. This suggests Tehran's nuclear activities are far from peaceful. The report has prompted the IAEA's 35-member Board of Governors (which includes the UK) meeting in Vienna this week that Iran has broken its non-proliferation agreement for the first time in 20 years, and to demand that Iran provide answers 'without delay' in the IAEA's long-running investigation into uranium traces found at several locations that Tehran has failed to declare as nuclear sites. In response to the ruling, the Islamic Republic said it had no choice but to respond by establishing a new enrichment facility in a 'secure location'. Suddenly, Trump's hopes of achieving a peaceful resolution of the Iran issue lie in tatters, with fears that the IAEA's uncompromising condemnation of Tehran's conduct could ultimately provoke a regional war. Western security officials have expressed concern that Israel is preparing to launch unilateral military action to nullify Iran's nuclear facilities, while Washington has responded to the deepening crisis by ordering the removal of non-essential staff from the US Embassy in Baghdad. Other diplomatic and military missions in the region have been ordered to undertake urgent risk assessments of the vulnerability to possible Iranian attacks. The latest Iran crisis certainly means the US leader, whose natural instinct is to avoid military action, is in a difficult dilemma. Having made clear that he is totally opposed to the ayatollahs developing nuclear weapons, Trump cannot ignore the clear-cut evidence that Iran is in breach of its nuclear obligations. Indeed, there were already indications that Trump was losing patience with Tehran prior to the IAEA's demarche. The president told a US podcast on Wednesday he was 'less confident' about the prospects of a deal, and accused Tehran of adopting a hardline position during the recent negotiations in Oman. By the same token, Trump has little appetite for engaging in military action unless there is absolutely no alternative, an attitude that the Iranians have no doubt taken on board in their approach to the latest round of nuclear talks. Even if Trump is unwilling to hold Tehran to account for its constant defiance of the IAEA, there are others, especially the Israelis, who are. So the American president could soon find himself involved in a direct confrontation with Iran, whether he likes it or not.
Sky News
2 days ago
- Politics
- Sky News
Iran not complying with nuclear obligations for first time in almost 20 years, says UN watchdog
The UN nuclear watchdog's board of governors has found that Iran is not complying with its nuclear obligations for the first time in 20 years. It comes as sources have told US media that Israel is considering taking military action against Iran in the coming days - without American support. The reports come as US President Donald Trump is said to be in advanced discussions with Iran about a diplomatic deal to curtail the Middle Eastern country's nuclear programme. Please refresh the page for the latest version.
