I knew it was coming, but that seems awful fast.  I don;t know, why, but I have a bad feeling about this whole topic.

Iran's President Mahmud Ahmadinejad's announcement that his country has succeeded in enriching uranium has set experts wondering what exactly Iran has achieved. Is Tehran bluffing, or has it actually taken a step which opens the way to a nuclear bomb? PRAGUE, April 12, 2006 (RFE/RL) -- Iran has raised the stakes in the dispute over its nuclear program by claiming to have successfully enriched uranium to the level of nuclear fuel. At a special ceremony on April 11, Ahmadinejad announced that "dear Iran has joined the nuclear countries of the world." He said the uranium was enriched suitable for nuclear power stations. Experts say that means an enrichment level of 3.5 percent -- far below the 90 percent enrichment required for weapons-grade material. But they add that the principles involved in producing bomb-grade material are the same as for enriching fuel for power stations. The actual enrichment process itself is complicated. Iranian officials say that, to reach the 3.5 percent level, the uranium was passed through a cascade of 164 centrifuges. Many more centrifuges are needed if Iran is to enrich industrial quantities of uranium. But Iran has made clear that is what it plans to have. The head of Iran's Atomic Energy Agency, Gholamreza Aqazadeh, said on April 11 that a cascade of 3,000 centrifuges will be completed this year. Eventually, a cascade complex of 50,000 units is planned -- which would certainly be able to enrich uranium to the standard required for weapons.

http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/library/news/iran/2006/iran-060412-rferl01.htm



Looks like Drudge is wrong

Quoted: I knew it was coming, but that seems awful fast.  I don;t know, why, but I have a bad feeling about this whole topic.

Haha... there is about as much chance of that happening as Hell freezing over. They don't have anywhere close to a high enough production rate to enrich enough uranium to manufacture a nuclear power plant, much less enough to manufacture a uranium based nuclear bomb.

Remember, it took the US years to get that much U235, and the equipment the Iranians are using isn't much more advanced than that. It will take the estabilishment of 30 to 40 more sites like the one they have along with breeder reactors to set themselves to be able to manufacture a pure uranium bomb or a plutonium bomb.

Quoted: Quoted: I knew it was coming, but that seems awful fast.  I don;t know, why, but I have a bad feeling about this whole topic. Haha... there is about as much chance of that happening as Hell freezing over. They don't have anywhere close to a high enough production rate to enrich enough uranium to manufacture a nuclear power plant, much less enough to manufacture a uranium based nuclear bomb. Remember, it took the US years to get that much U235, and the equipment the Iranians are using isn't much more advanced than that. It will take the estabilishment of 30 to 40 more sites like the one they have along with breeder reactors to set themselves to be able to manufacture a pure uranium bomb or a plutonium bomb.

Yea, it did take us a long time.  We didn't have the China and Russia holding our hand and helping us.

Dude, read the link from drudgereport, it contradicts the 16 day comment here....

Iran has informed the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency that it plans to construct 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz next year, Rademaker said. ``We calculate that a 3,000-machine cascade could produce enough uranium to build a nuclear weapon within 271 days,'' he said.

And again

Rademaker said the technology to enrich uranium to a low level could also be used to make weapons-grade uranium, saying that it would take a little over 13 years to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon with the 164 centrifuges currently in use.

More like 16-24 months.  They are believed to have other facilities near completion and others under various stages of construction..

Even our intellegence has estimated at 36 months tops if they are left to their own devises.

Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: I knew it was coming, but that seems awful fast.  I don;t know, why, but I have a bad feeling about this whole topic. Haha... there is about as much chance of that happening as Hell freezing over. They don't have anywhere close to a high enough production rate to enrich enough uranium to manufacture a nuclear power plant, much less enough to manufacture a uranium based nuclear bomb. Remember, it took the US years to get that much U235, and the equipment the Iranians are using isn't much more advanced than that. It will take the estabilishment of 30 to 40 more sites like the one they have along with breeder reactors to set themselves to be able to manufacture a pure uranium bomb or a plutonium bomb. Yea, it did take us a long time.  We didn't have the China and Russia holding our hand and helping us.

Well, I am not worried about the Uranium gun design, it is too impractical for a force of their size to use. I would be somewhat worried about the Chinese and Russians giving them the formulas for the placement of lens charges around plutonium though, they could theoretically put it in the back of a large 18-wheeler.

Quoted: Dude, read the link from drudgereport, it contradicts the 16 day comment here.... Iran has informed the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency that it plans to construct 3,000 centrifuges at Natanz next year, Rademaker said. ``We calculate that a 3,000-machine cascade could produce enough uranium to build a nuclear weapon within 271 days,'' he said. And again Rademaker said the technology to enrich uranium to a low level could also be used to make weapons-grade uranium, saying that it would take a little over 13 years to produce enough highly enriched uranium for a nuclear weapon with the 164 centrifuges currently in use.

What, check out the facts and risk lagging behind, only to be tagged as a dupe poster?

No thanks, I'd rather be first and way wrong than hold my tongue until the facts are all in.

Did that just sound like Dan Rather?

Yeah, 16 days from when they get all the centrifuges up and running.

Which will be - according to the reports - later this year.

Expect things to get loud later this year. Rock the Casbah indeed.