‘On the cusp’: Trump rightfully concerned over Iran being on brink of ‘a deliverable nuclear weapon’
Nuclear watchdogs have long been concerned about Iran’s stockpile of uranium enriched to 60%, and more recently, in 2023, the International Atomic Energy Agency found uranium particles at Iran’s Fordo facility enriched to 83.7 %, which is dangerously close to weapons-grade.
WorldNetDaily spoke to former CIA officer and Iran expert Clare Lopez. As of Feb. 8, noted Lopez, Iran has 274.8 kilograms of uranium enriched up to 60%. That’s a significant 92.5 kilogram increase in its stockpile since November 2023. If enriched to approximately 90% or more, that would provide enough highly enriched uranium to create six nuclear weapons, according to the IAEA.
Unfortunately, according to the Institute for Science and International Security, “The IAEA’s ability to detect diversion of [Iran’s] nuclear materials, equipment, and other capabilities to undeclared facilities remains greatly diminished.”
All things considered, Lopez is gravely concerned. Thus she is thankful that President Donald Trump has “committed to reestablishing the maximum pressure campaign against the Iranian regime,” to include enforcing sanctions and other economic measures. “By shutting down the Iranian oil export sector, it will cut off access to the international financial system,” she explained.
Trump has not ruled out military involvement, according to a letter recently sent to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei. While Lopez expects the president to be open to negotiation of a nuclear deal as he has stated, she believes allowing Iran to ultimately possess “a deliverable nuclear weapon” is not something Trump would condone.
Following the letter, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected nuclear talks with the United States, suggesting “such negotiations aren’t aimed at solving issues.”
But in a statement posted on X on March 9, Iran’s U.N. mission said: “If the objective of negotiations is to address concerns vis-à-vis any potential militarization of Iran’s nuclear program, such discussions may be subject to consideration.”
“The problem,” Lopez said, “is that the [Iranian] regime is very unlikely ever going to give up on that objective, especially while on the cusp of deliverable nuclear weapons as we speak.” What’s more, she warned, Iran likely already has “a handful of warheads.”
Last month, she wrote, “At a January 31 press briefing, Deputy Director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI)’s Washington, D.C., office, Alireza Jafarzadeh, provided alarming new information about the Iranian regime’s race to fit nuclear warheads to its arsenal of solid-fuel Ghaem-100 ballistic missiles.” The hold-up, she told WND, is that “attaching a warhead to the nose cone of a missile is not an easy thing. It’s not like screwing a lid on a jar.”
On Oct. 1, 2024, Iran launched approximately 180 ballistic missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted and shot down by Israeli air defenses with the help of U.S. forces. Lopez warned, “These ballistic missiles were nuclear capable, but they were not armed with nuclear warheads at the time.” Thus she is extremely concerned over the potential devastation that could occur should Iran be able to build missiles tipped with nuclear warheads.