Iran can build nuclear bomb, confidential IAEA report concludes

A confidential report compiled by senior officials in the UN nuclear watchdog claims Iran already has enough knowledge to build a nuclear bomb, the ‘New York Times’ has reported. According to the report, senior staff members of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) concluded in an analysis that Tehran had acquired "sufficient information to be able to design and produce a workable implosion nuclear device," based on highly-enriched uranium. “The atomic agency’s report also presents evidence that beyond improving upon bomb-making information gathered from rogue nuclear experts around the world, Iran has done extensive research and testing on how to fashion the components of a weapon. It does not say how far that work has progressed,” the newspaper wrote. The report appeared to contradict a controversial analysis by US intelligence services in 2007 which argued that Iran had put its nuclear weapons program on ice as far back as 2003.

The independent Institute for Science and International Security (ISIS) published excerpts of the report on its website: http://www.isis-online.org/publications/iran/IAEA_info_3October2009.pdf.

US President Obama’s National Security Adviser, Gen. Jim Jones, dismissed the ‘New York Times’ story. "Whether they know how to do it or not is a matter of some conjecture, but what we are watching is what is their intent and we have been worried about that intent. We now have an Iran that is willing to come to the table," he said on CBS's ‘Face the Nation’ program. Asked whether Iran was closer to having a bomb, Jones said on CNN: "No, we stand by the reports that we have put out."

Meanwhile, negotiations on the export of Iran's uranium will take place on 19 October and UN inspectors will visit the newly-revealed Qom enrichment plant on 25 October, it was agreed at a visit of outgoing IAEA Director-General Mohammed ElBaradei to Tehran. At a press conference, ElBaradei said Israel’s nuclear weapons arsenal was “the number one threat in the Middle East.” After meeting with the IAEA head, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that no unresolved issue remained between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency. Iran said on Monday it would head into the next round of talks with a "positive" approach. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hassan Ghashghavi said that Mohamed ElBaradei had been full of praise for Iran's cooperation.